I certainly hope this is not common practice. It seems to me that this
person cannot claim copyright for rights he does not own or that do not
exist as in those works in the public domain. Did this person
receive permission to use the copyrighted (?) images in the first
place? I assume he knows that these images could be downloaded by
site visitors. While it is great to have volunteers that are enthusiastic
and want to help these are potentially serious conflicts. The Sept./Oct.
issue of Museum News, vol.76, no.5, has a good, readable discussion of the
Fair Use Doctrine.

Bill Low

> I encountered a situation recently which I am not sure is usual or unusual
> practice.  A volunteer at an institution assembled material including a
> list of objects and photographs of those objects and compiled them into a
> comprehensive reference.  He then copyrighted the reference in his own
> name.  Some photographs are public domain, some from private sources and
> some in the institution's collection.  The volunteer maintains a web site
> in the institution's name but lists himself as the contact for copyright
> permission.
>
> Is this common practice?  Are there legal and ethical conflicts?
>
> Wayne Hart, Executive Director
> Museum of Valor
>