At 05:39 PM 5/1/2006, you wrote: >The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers claim a copyright on all photos donated >to them. Most were donated by descendants of the person in the photo not >by the photographer. Are these truly copyrightable? >Betseylee If you did not create it, or inherit the rights of the creator via the laws of inheritance, or have copyright transferred to you via written contract, you can not claim copyright. According to the U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Basics, Circular 1 http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wccc What Works are Protected, Two General Principles "Mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, or any other copy or phonorecord does not give the possessor the copyright. The law provides that transfer of ownership of any material object that embodies a protected work does not of itself convey any rights in the copyright." Also note the phrase "a protected work" in the quote above.. If the work is not protected, i.e. public domain, it can not be taken out of the public domain. It belongs to the community at large and no one can claim copyright. Pat Original Message ----- From: <JYoung6180@aol.com> >To: <COPYRIGHT-L@rootsweb.com> >Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 12:32 PM >Subject: Re: [COPYRIGHT] Publishing old photos > > >> >>In a message dated 5/1/2006 2:24:10 PM Eastern Standard Time, >>guy.etchells@virgin.net writes: >> >>First you would have to ascertain who the copyright owner of the photo >>was, it may be the photographer and not you or your brother. >> >> >> >>--- >>And the likelihood that even a professional photographer has renewed the >>copyright to a wedding photo taken in 1931 is slim to none...and even in the >>unlikely event he did renew copyright (perhaps because he learned the flower >>girl was a celebrity and he wanted to capitalize on it) the only person who >>could file a complaint about infringement would be the photographer or >>his heirs. >> >>Joan >> >> >>==== COPYRIGHT Mailing List ==== >>LATIN-WORDS-L is a mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or >>historical interest in deciphering and interpreting written documents in >>Latin from earliest to most recent 20th Century times, and discussing old >>Latin words, phrases, names, abbreviations and antique jargon. To >>subscribe, send subscribe to mailto:LATIN-WORDS-L-request@rootsweb.com >>(Mail Mode) or mailto:LATIN-WORDS-D-request@rootsweb.com (Digest Mode) >> >>============================== >>Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for >>ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: >>http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx >> >> > > >==== COPYRIGHT Mailing List ==== >LATIN-WORDS-L is a mailing list for anyone with a genealogical or >historical interest in deciphering and interpreting written documents in >Latin from earliest to most recent 20th Century times, and discussing old >Latin words, phrases, names, abbreviations and antique jargon. To >subscribe, send subscribe to mailto:LATIN-WORDS-L-request@rootsweb.com >(Mail Mode) or mailto:LATIN-WORDS-D-request@rootsweb.com (Digest Mode) > >============================== >Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the >last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: >http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx >