Liz Ackert <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >This request for information is being cross-posted to Museum-L and >Libref-L. Please forward it to colleagues who may be able to assist us. >__________________ >The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library has extensive holdings of >photographic images (in excess of 200,000). My colleagues in Visual >Resources wish to know if other museums and/or libraries copyright >individual photographic images in their collections. This question relates >especially to those images which are requested for use in periodical and >book publications. >If your institution does copyright photographic images, it would be useful >for us to know when the application for copyright is usually initiated. Is >it at the time a contract is drawn up as part of a rights and reproductions >transaction? Or are selected images copyrighted in anticipation of their >use by other publishers? And if so, how are such decisions made. >Please respond privately and I will summarize responses to the list. Many >thanks in advance for your consideration and assistance. >Liz Ackert > >>:> >>:> >>:> >>:> >>:> >>:> >>:> >>:> >>:> > Liz Ackert ([log in to unmask]) > Public Services Librarian > Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Library > P.O. Box 1776 / 415 North Boundary Street > Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776 > Phone (804) 220-7419 Fax (804) 221-8902 I need some help here. How can a Museum pretend to have any copyrights to photos that were taken by other people unless they have benn assigned to the museum? I always thought that copyrights remain with the artist, the creator, unless she/he assigned the rights to any other entity. I also thought that the rights remain with her/his heirs or estate for the fifty years following the artist/creator' death. Is there any legal expert we can clarify the matter. Thank you. [log in to unmask] http://www.artcom.com/