>When a contemporary artist dies, does the estate own the right to
>publish photographs of that artist's works at will, regardless of present
>owner,
> and for how long?


Theoretically, yes.

The present copyright law (PL 94-553), as of January 1, 1978, stipulates
that the copyright for works created on or after 1/1/78 last through the
life of the creator plus 50 years after the creator's death.  Copyright of
joint works lasts 50 years after the deatrth of the last surviving
co-creator.

The creator of the work holds what is called "rights of termination."  This
means that the creator may terminate or transfer his/her copyright to
another party.  When the creator dies, as stated in Chapter 2, section 203,
clause 2, the surviving spouse and or children inherit rights to the
artist's name and copyright to his/her works.  Such rights may continue to
the grandchildren of the creator.  The widow or widower owns the entire
termination interest unless there are children, in which case the surviving
spouse owns one-half.  The other half is divided among the children.  The
statute spells out the details of this provision.

The answer to your question is YES, the estate does have the right of
reproduction because the estate owns the copyright.  The exception is
"works for hire," which by definition, are owned by the the party
contracting the creator for the work, not the creator himself.  "Work for
hire" is defined and addressed in Chapter 1, section 101 and chapter 2,
section 201 of the statute.

Henry B. Crawford
Curator of History
Museum of Texas Tech University
Box 43191
Lubbock, TX  79409-3191
806/742-2442
FAX 742-1136
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