From: "LCHS Curator" <lchscurator@centurytel.net> Subject: RE: Photo Collection Use Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:57:54 -0500 Message-ID: <000901cb3af7$e9a48ec0$bcedac40$@net>
How very timely--thank you for having this discussion just as I am putting
out a "call for documentation" and requesting that the public share photos
with me of themselves or their children on some kiddie rides that were
removed last year, after decades in a local park. I don't necessarily want
the original photos, just scans or jpegs, but we certainly want publishing
rights in case someone wants to use them somewhere down the road. Guess I
need to have a release form ready!
Thanks again for the reminder: not having a background in archives, I had
not even thought of this yet.
Peggy Derrick, Curator
La Crosse County Historical Society
P.O. Box 1272
La Crosse, WI 54602-1272
ph. 608-782-1980
From: localhistory-request@listserve.uwec.edu
[mailto:localhistory-request@listserve.uwec.edu] On Behalf Of Kraushaar,
Andy W - WHS
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 3:09 PM
To: 'localhistory@listserve.uwec.edu'
Cc: Benjamin, David R - WHS
Subject: RE: Photo Collection Use
I absolutely concur with Jim on his perspective. We put images up on Flickr
as well (http://www.flickr.com/photos/whsimages/), and try to use care not
to infringe on the rights of photographers and/or copyright holders. That
said, there are many images in every archives for which rights are unclear
for a variety of reasons. We absolutely administer "risk management" and
attempt to only put online images for which we have clear rights or are out
of copyright. Occasionally we have been asked to take an image down, and we
have done so immediately. We also attempt to make it clear that we do not
own the copyright to most of our holdings and require that the end user
research any rights issues prior to use.
Andy Kraushaar
Visual Materials Curator
Library-Archives Division
Wisconsin Historical Society
816 State Street
Madison, WI 53706
Andy.Kraushaar@Wisconsinhistory.org
(608) 264-6481
Wisconsin Historical Images
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi
WHS Images on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whsimages
Collecting, Preserving and Sharing Stories Since 1846
_____
From: localhistory-request@listserve.uwec.edu
[mailto:localhistory-request@listserve.uwec.edu] On Behalf Of Jim Hahn
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 2:33 PM
To: localhistory@listserve.uwec.edu
Subject: RE: Photo Collection Use
Bill -
I'd be wary of loaned pics being put up with "owned" pics. Without a signed
release, they could always come back and say, "I loaned them for YOUR use,
not your use in selling to others for profit. I want the money you made from
my images!"
Also, even if they gave you a postcard or other image - these things may
still be copyrighted or other people's property. You could have what legal
experts call "exposure" for liability if someone comes back later and shows
that the person who gave you the object did not have the right to give it to
you. You lose your benefit because it rests on an underlying illegal act -
what legal experts call the "fruit of the poison tree." You cannot claim
that you just didn't know - ignorance of the law is no excuse, as they say.
If, however, you have a signed release that includes the signatory's
affirmation that they attest that the image is their property and they alone
have the rights to it and they are transferring or sharing their rights
to/with you, then you would have some (but still not absolute) coverage.
Applying a standard of "did the organization, given its resources, apply a
reasonable level of caution/care" would seem to lean to a determination in
your favor given your use of the signed release.
We have dealt with these issues with photos for national news media such as
the Associated Press. They won't use a photo often which might have
questionable ownership issues in play. However, if I send them a picture and
say I personally snapped it for the purpose of giving it to them, then they
are amenable.
I am not an attorney, but I would recommend only posting/selling pictures
you own (you took them, they will gifted to you from an estate, etc.) OR
ones for which you have a signed release for either giving you ownership or
sharing ownership with you.
While this may limit your available offerings in the short-term, it
responsibly protects your organization through what we call "due diligence."
As with anything, what you are doing is Risk Management, because you can
never achieve absolute Risk Avoidance. J
Good luck, Flikr sounds like a good option. J
_____
Jim Hahn, CFRE
Director of Development & Marketing
WAUKESHA COUNTY MUSEUM
101 W. Main St., Waukesha, WI 53186
(262) 521-2859 ext. 228, <mailto:jhahn@wchsm.org> jhahn@wchsm.org
(412) 716-1880 cell-note area code
Marc Sijan - Being Alive
Opening July 10, 2010
Visit www.waukeshacountymuseum.org for info on tours
<http://www.waukeshacountymuseum.org/group_tours.html> , camps
<http://www.waukeshacountymuseum.org/summer_camp.html> , Scout programs
<http://www.waukeshacountymuseum.org/scouts.html> , Discovery
<http://www.waukeshacountymuseum.org/discovery_boxes.html> Boxes, and other
programs <http://www.waukeshacountymuseum.org/calendar.html> at the
Waukesha County Museum!
_____
_____
From: localhistory-request@listserve.uwec.edu
[mailto:localhistory-request@listserve.uwec.edu] On Behalf Of Bill Schuette
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 1:06 PM
To: localhistory@listserve.uwec.edu
Subject: Photo Collection Use
We are putting our photo collection images on Flickr (a photo sharing Web
site). We have set the parameters so that they can't be downloaded.
We feel that if people can see a photo they are more likely to order a copy,
than if they just read a description.
That as background, we have thousands of images in our collection that we
have scanned from people who have loaned us their old pictures, postcards,
etc.
We did not have them sign a release of rights paper at the time.
My question is, can we place these collections on our Flickr site so that
people can order copies?
By allowing us to make copies of their images, did they, in effect, give us
the rights to those photos, to use them as we saw fit?
Bill
Sauk County Historical Society