Posters

From: Michael Seadle <seadle[_at_]MAIL.LIB.MSU.EDU>
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 17:25:35 -0400

Let me ask a mundane and non-philosophic...

We have a number of posters from South African protests that we are thinking of including in an on-line exhibit. If I read the explanations of the law correctly (mainly I'm relying on Mary Brandt Jensen, _Does your Project have a Copyright Problem? A Decision-Making Guide for Librarians_, Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1996, pp52-55), those posters which have no notice of copyright *may* well be in the public domain unless their authors/designers took advantage of the 5 year rule and subsequently registered them.

Does this seem reasonable to everyone? Or is there something special about posters? I know the pre-89 law had an exemption for greeting cards, postcards, etc., but posters seemed not to fit any of those categories, and some of our posters do have copyright notices.

Thanks and best wishes... Michael

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Michael Seadle seadle[_at_]mail.lib.msu.edu <mailto:seadle[_at_]mail.lib.msu.edu>

Michigan State University
Phone: 517-432-0807
Fax: 517-432-1191
Editor: Library Hi Tech

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Received on Tue Sep 29 1998 - 21:29:37 GMT