Kaia,
 
Basically, in terms of copyright, when a photograph is printed either in digital or print form it is automatically the copyright of the person who took the photo. However, if they do not get model releases from people in their photos or of property that is identifiable with a person or institution that owns that property and the property is not in public view from a sidewalk or street, then you have the basis of a complaint. But...because you allow the public to take photos that may mean that you can do absolutely nothing - because the photo is a representation of a visit to the exhibit and not a direct copy of it in physical form or text. It does not matter if you feel that one pic with someone's father is fine while a pic of the label is not - once you allow photos you allow ALL photos.

You can complain to flickr and see what happens but they may leave it stand.

You should change your photography policy - it is best for the preservation of the collections and also would give you grounds to more aggessively deal with this sort of thing.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, CA

On Sat, Jun 14, 2008 at 9:54 PM, Kaia Landon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
We've been wanting to add some photos to Flickr for awhile, and I just now started uploading a few.  I followed the tags to see what else was already there tagged with our museum's name, and I was awfully surprised to find 62 photos -- all of one small (700 square feet) very popular exhibition.  Now, these aren't just photos, these are basically reproductions of ALL of the label text, along with everything in the exhibition.  As it is Saturday evening and I just discovered it, I haven't had a chance to discuss with the exhibition's curator, or our graphic designer who spent countless hours on the labels, or my director, but I cannot imagine that they would be pleased. 

Has anyone dealt with this sort of problem?  Can anyone point me to relevant copyright regulations as applied to photos of labels, and photos of photos?  

While we do allow photographs, and we should be fine with people posting photographs, this is basically a complete copy of the exhibition.  It is an exhibition on a long-time popular local television program, and I believe we have several possible layers of difficulty, as some of the photos (in the exhibition, which are reproduced on Flickr) are undoubtedly originally from the television station, or private collectors, etc., along with all sorts of quotes.  These do not seem to be "Hey, look at my trip to the Museum" photos, but rather "Hey, I'm reproducing the entire exhibition for you all here!" photos. 

I'm just speechless. 
Thanks,
Kaia Landon
Curator of Education (and tech guru)
Mesa Historical Museum

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