It depends on how your one-time use agreement was worded. When we grant
use for a book project, it includes possible use of images to promote
the project, with proper credit of course. If the images displayed in
the hardware store are to promote the book, and not for permanent
display - then you need to see how your agreement is worded.
Sounds like both sides may be partially in the right, and need to let
cooler heads settle the dispute.
The copyright issue has nothing to do with this of course.
The waiving of the use fees could muddy the water even more, unless you
got something in return, you in effect said the use of the images had no
value in this case.


Katie Wadell wrote:

>I have a pretty sordid story to tell, and I wonder if anyone could give me
>some advice .....
>
>I work with an all- volunteer group that runs a small museum and archive.
>Recently, we received a letter saying that we (and our president) were being
>sued by one of our patrons.   A while back, this patron signed a one-time
>use agreement to print some of our photos in a book he was publishing. We
>generously waived the use fee.  Later, we found out that he had given copies
>of two of our images to a local hardware store, in order to promote the
>book.  The president asked that the images be taken down from the  store, or
>that the store owner (or the original patron) sign another use agreement and
>pay the appropriate fee.
>
>Then, we got a letter from the patron's lawyer, threatening to sue us with
>libel. He said that, even through he had signed the one-time use agreement,
>that the image was out of copyright and that we had no right to restrict its
>use.   Moreover, we were hurting his good name in the community.  Finally,
>the lawyer's letter said that we were hurting the cause of local history, by
>restricting people's access to our collection.  (In reality, anyone who
>wants to see the pictures can come into our archive and look at them -
>either during open hours or after making an appointment.  For 50 cents, they
>can even get a nice copy to take home.)
>
> I'm 99% sure that we are in the right, but there is one problem.... I was
>supposed to write to the original patron after the president talked to the
>hardware store owner, but I got busy with other things and let the letter
>fall to the bottom of the stack of things to do- before I could get to it,
>we got the letter from the lawyer. Obviously, I'm feeling pretty guilty now.
>
>What do we do now? We are getting a lawyer ourselves, but I'd like to give
>the lawyer some info about what museums usually do in this kind of case.
>
>THANKS!
>
>Katie Wadell
>
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--
Chris Taylor
Executive Director
Atchison County Historical Society
P.O. Box 201
200 S. 10th Street, Santa Fe Depot
Atchison, KS 66002
913-367-6238
[log in to unmask]
http://www.atchisonhistory.org

=========================================================
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The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).