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Copyright, Photographs, and Wittgenstein
Posted by Ernest Miller on Wednesday, October 23 @ 22:03:13 EDT
Contributed by BWCarver
Copyright
BWCarver writes "For seven years Brian Carver (that's me) has run a web site that seeks to be a comprehensive resource of web information related to the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951). Photographs of Wittgenstein were previously available in an online gallery. The Wittgenstein Archives in Cambridge has begun asserting their right to control publication of these photos, as they are in the process of setting up an online method of purchasing copies of the images. Carver is trying to persuade the Archive that it is in the best interests of both the Archive and the public that these images be widely and freely available. Reading about the situation makes clear the impact that the extensive length of copyright is having in an internet age where anyone can be a publisher. I would be pleased if those with greater expertise on Copyright law cared to read the e-mail exchange and offer opinions on the status of the photographs, and I would also be pleased if people in general wrote to the Archive to help me explain the public benefit that is made possible by the resources of the past being widely and freely available.

Note:

Note:I post this submission simply as an example of where the copyright holder may seem somewhat more sympathetic. However, it seems odd to me for preservation-focused nonprofits to rely so strongly on copyright. The archives' arguments seem eerily similar to those of Hollywood, where films will deteriorate if copyright is not extended another 20 years. Furthermore, one has to question whether this control might be abused in improper hands. As for the merits of the present case, the law is rather complex, as each individual photograph would have different underlying facts to take into consideration."

 
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Re: Copyright, Photographs, and Wittgenstein (Score: 2, Informative)
by bryan_taylor on Thursday, October 24 @ 19:02:43 EDT
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I think Mr. Carver would do well to probe the validity of the Copyright. I find it surprising that this archive would actually own these copyrights. First off, he should at a minimum ask for a copy of the documentation transfering copyright ownership to the Wittgenstein Archives. The Archives are not the original author, and would have become the copyright owner only if they received a signed transfer of copyright ownership from the author. This would be the photographer or the company that employed him.

In particular, the mere fact that the Wittgenstein Archives own the original prints and/or the negatives is not sufficent to establish that they own the copyright.

Then there is the question of whether the copyright has expired. This must be resolved on a photo by photo basis. You need to know the photographer, when they died, and if/when the photos were first published. Looking at the dates when Wittgenstein lived, it is entirely possible the answer may depend on the outcome of Eldred.

Any photos that were taken by a private photographer who died before 1932 are public domain, under the life+70 rule. If Eldred wins, the date in question would be 1952 under the life+50 rule. Also, if the photographer is unknown, then it is impossible for the Archive to prove that they own the copyrights.

It is also possible that the photos became public domain before 1976, especially if they were not renewed. To figure this out, you need to know when the originals were first published. I think the copyright term was 28 years with a 28 year renewal, so if a work was first published in 1940, but never renewed, then it became public domain in 1968. Even though the 1976 law changed to "life+50", it did so only for works which were not in the public domain at that time.


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Re: Copyright, Photographs, and Wittgenstein (Score: 1)
by BWCarver on Friday, October 25 @ 10:44:08 EDT
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The e-mail correspondence has been updated this morning and the Archive apparently wishes to assert copyright not so much over the original images, but on their scanned versions. I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on this. BWCarver


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