JuliAnn, For photos taken after 1978 the copyright duration is from the date the work was created plus the life of creator plus 70 years. For photos taken before 1978 then it depends on the date of publication since that was a requirement of copyright law before 1978. So many photos taken 50 years ago may still be under copyright while the length of that copyright may vary depending on when it was published. This does not change no matter how hard it is to track the copyright owners down. https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.html Cheers! Dave David Harvey Senior Conservator & Museum Consultant Los Angeles, CA. USA www.cityofangelsconservation.weebly.com On Mon, Apr 2, 2018, 11:18 AM American Sokol <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > What about cases where the photos are 50+ years old and the photographer > and the studio are long gone? Tracking down family would be extremely > difficult. > > Thanks. > > JuliAnn > > On Mar 30, 2018, at 7:36 AM, Tod Hopkins <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > A quick follow-up to my earlier post. My comments should not be extended > to questions about the use of the copyrighted works of others. I did not > mean to suggest that one should not respect copyright simply because there > is no money involved, nor that copyright has no meaning beyond monetary > interests. > > Copyright gives the creator control over use of their works. You should > always seek permission for use. > > Cheers, > tod > > > > On Mar 29, 2018, at 8:22 AM, Tod Hopkins <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > If you are asking for a purely legal answer, you are on the wrong track, > though it may be the easiest answer. This is really a moral, ethical, and > aesthetic question and should be treated as one. > > Legally, placing the words on or near the photo has no significance. > Further, unless the museum created the work in question, it is legally > wrong for the museum assert copyright. That’s the end of the issue as far > as the law is concerned. > > However, there is a creator and you do have an ethical obligation to > “credit” the creator if it was not the museum. You do not need to credit > yourself. It’s your exhibit. You don’t need to take credit for every photo > in it. > > But don’t put the credit on the photo. That’s defacement. You wouldn’t do > this to a painting. Why would you do it to a photo? Just because you can? > > Copyright is entirely about money, the protection of one’s monetary > interest in an original work. If there is no, or little, monetary interest, > wasting time on issues of copyright is usually a waste of energy. Yes, > there are rare occasions where copyright is asserted as a matter of > artistic control, but it’s important to remember that copyright law is > explicitly about monetary interests. > > Is there a real monetary interest? Would you or someone else be willing to > sue over it? If so, you need to worry about copyright. If not, it’s really > just an ethical issue of proper credit. > > Cheers, > tod > > > Tod Hopkins > Hillmann & Carr Inc. > 2233 Wisconsin Ave., NW > Washington, DC 20007 > 202-342-0001 > > > > Cheers, > tod > > > Tod Hopkins > Hillmann & Carr Inc. > 2233 Wisconsin Ave., NW > Washington, DC 20007 > 202-342-0001 > > > > On Mar 23, 2018, at 3:48 PM, Ashley LaVigne <[log in to unmask] > <[log in to unmask]>> wrote: > > Hello everyone. I have a question re: copyright. Our museum displays > historic photographs in townships across our county and we were recently > asked to help create tour kiosks along a bike trail. These will contain > roughly 100 images. My director is adamant we now place a copyright tag on > every single image, including the ones we will print and mount in our > gallery displays. I think these look tacky and take away from the images, > but he is convinced people will steal these images and reproduce our images > for their own use/financial gain--thus saying we might as well not even > house photos in our collection or sell them because everyone will have > them. I personally think this is a bit dramatic. I was under the > understanding that these photos are copyrighted regardless, and that > ownership would have to be proven should we find someone reproducing our > images anyway? > > Can anyone offer advice so when the subject arises again I can understand > it better? I have been reading copyright laws, but I guess I need something > laid out in a way I can easily understand. > > Please feel free to contact me off list. > > Thank you! > > Best, > > Ashley LaVigne > > ========================================================= > Important Subscriber Information: > > 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). > > > > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > > > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > > > Julie Barcal > American Sokol Archives > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: 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).