Pat, My concern was your questions # 1 and # 2, but after reading all the explanations, it looks like the former photographer was the only person with any legal standing. It still doesn't seem right to me since they were MY parents but there's nothing to be done about it. I would have appreciated a request of permission to use the photo since there was a way to contact me through a former secretary of the movie star who I was exchanging letters with, and also a cousin of the movie star who still lives in my city. Thanks, Marilyn ------------------original message-------------------- In a message dated 5/2/2006 7:01:22 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, pasher@ee.net writes: If you would identify your actual point of concern, someone could probably answer intelligently, i.e. is the question 1) Do the subjects have copyrights to a photo? 2) Can the subject control distribution and/or republication of the photo? 3) Do I have a right to recompense for the use of the wedding photo of my parents? Pat

At 07:19 PM 5/3/2006, you wrote: >My concern was your questions # 1 and # 2, but after reading all the >explanations, it looks like the former photographer was the only person >with any legal standing. It still doesn't seem right to me since they >were MY >parents but there's nothing to be done about it. I would have >appreciated a >request of permission to use the photo since there was a way to contact me >through a former secretary of the movie star who I was >exchanging letters with, and also a cousin of the movie star who still lives >in my city. Marilyn, Publicity rights is not an area about which I have much knowledge; but my guess is that your parents did not demonstrate any intention to keep the photo "private" when they themselves distributed several copies; and their rights to privacy in general ceased at their deaths. Unless you can demonstrate a "commercial value" for the use of the image, the posessor of the photograph is probably free to republish it if the photographer's copyright has expired. The Library of Congress has published a brief explanation of publicity rights: http://www.loc.gov/homepage/legal.html#privacy_publicity If you feel strongly about it, you might want to investigate the state laws specific to your parents. Pat