Re: State Susceptibility to Suit for Copyright and Patent Infringement

On 98-08-04, Dan L. Burk <burkdanl[_at_]shu.edu> write:
>
> On 7/31/98, Pat Sloane <patsloane[_at_]aol.com> wrote:
> >
> > On 98-07-31, Dan L. Burk <burkdanl[_at_]shu.edu> writes:
> > >
> > > It would be, but probably isn't. Setting aside the merits of the
> > > suit (Raphael long ago fell into the public domain)
> >
> > It doesn't work this way. Museums have a right to control
> > activiities on their premises.
>
> Yes, but how is that relevant to the question that was posed? Once the
> image is off the premises, there is very little that the museum can do
> to control third party usage of the public domain elements in the image.
 

Recall that in many or most cases, the only way to get "the image... off the premises" is to buy a photograph from the museum that the museum photography department has taken, and in which they hold a copyright.

Why does little old me comply with the law, when you seem to be implying it's unenforceable?

1. If I do a book with 50 reproductions of famous paintings owned by museums, no publisher will publish it without seeing permissions. They don't want to expose themselves to liabilitiy. Nor do I.
2. I need the good will of museums, because I need to use their facilities. Beat one museum out of a petty fee for using their photograph, and I risk losing my credibility with all of them. I'd rather be regarded as an upfront person. Besides, some of them do try to be reasonable. They won't charge if the photo is going in an article for an academic journal. They will charge if it's something like a book that i stand to make money from if the book is sold.
3. There is one place where we all turn into sharks. A freind asked me if he could use an article I'd published in a journal in an anthology he was doing. I said "how much will I get paid?" He said, "if you want money I'll ask someone else." I guess there's a sort of unwritten rule that friends don't ask friends for reproduction fees on photos or articles.

Pat Sloane
<patsloane[_at_]aol.com> Received on Tue Aug 04 1998 - 16:10:55 GMT