>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 [log in to unmask]