One should be careful not to refer to someone else's commments as
"uniformed" and then proceed to dispense uniformed commentary on the same
subject.
        Since this is an international list we should start by remembering that
the details of copyright law vary from country to country. There are
international agreements, but not all nations are signatories to them.
        Under current U.S. law one need not formally register a copyright to hold
one. Any intellectual property that is put in tangible form, as Albert
Sperath stated, is considered to be copyrighted from the point it is
reduced to tangible form; you cannot copyright an idea, but its expressions
can be copyrighted. Copyright "attaches" at the moment of creation, or
transfer to tangible form. Copyright for an exhibit would, then, belong to
the team putting it together collectively, or, if it was done as part of a
job for which they were paid, to the institution paying them. In this case
it would be considerd a "work for hire." Why one would want to copyright an
exhibit is not really the question, it is automatically copyrighted under
current US law. The circumstances under which one would need formally to
assert such a copyright may be hard to imagine, but that is really a
separate issue.
        Assigning a copyright for publication, whether for something written or
for a photograph, does not put the material in the public domain or
extinguish the copyright. The copyright extends for the period specified in
the law regardless of how often a work (written or graphic) is published.
Works of art can be copyrighted by their creator and are copyrighted if the
term of the copyright specified in the law has not expired. Exhibition of
works of art does not put them in the public domain. Copyright is also
separable from physical ownership. One can own an item but not own the
rights to reproduce and distribute it.
        None of this is spurious or novel, although copyright law is a murky area
and if one has questions beyond a basic, common sense understanding -- or
if you are planning to reproduce something -- it is best to consult an
attorney who works in the filed and is familiar with the case law in the
particular area you'll be working.

Bill Mulligan




William H. Mulligan, Jr. [[log in to unmask]]
Associate Professor of History
Director - Forrest C. Pogue Public History Institute
6B Faculty Hall
Murray State University - Murray, KY 42071-3341
Phone:(270) 762-6571 Fax:(270) 762-6587
Pogue Institute web site:
http://campus.murraystate.edu/academic/faculty/Bill.Mulligan/Index.htm
Personal web site:
http://campus.murraystate.edu/academic/faculty/Bill.Mulligan/mull-pers.htm

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