Re: Bettmann Archive

I'd like to return to the question of copyright status of published photographs of "old master" graphic art. Consider a photograph made with permission of the owner of the work (some museum someplace) and published in an art history text book. The textbook is assuredly copyright protected. But what about the photograph? Seems to me the intent of the photograph was prima facie to reproduce the original as accuately as possible (so the student can look at the photo but understand the original), so I don't see much new artistic contribution in the photograph.

What's to prevent me from copying the photo from the textbook? Does the owner of the original work have any recourse at all?

JQ Johnson
<jqj[_at_]darkwing.uoregon.edu> Received on Fri Oct 20 1995 - 20:21:13 GMT