Re: Zapruder film copyright

On Tue, 24 Nov 1998, Alan Kabat <alankabat[_at_]aol.com> wrote:
>
> To those who have been following the saga of the copyright in the
> Zapruder film of the J.F. Kennedy assassination, a story in today's
> Washington Post (Nov. 24, 1998, at A17) may be of interest:
>
> The "Assassination Archives and Research Center" and a filmmaker
> (Passage Productions of Baltimore) have sued DOJ, the National Archives,
> and agents for the Zapruders, in the District Court for the District
> of Columbia. The plaintiffs contend that DOJ should not be spending
> taxpayers' monies to purchase the film while allowing the Zapruders to
> retain copyright. The plaintiffs also contend that the Zapruders
> abandoned the copyright, and that their fees are excessive.

     I'm totally confused by this message. I have an article in front of me from 5 Public Domain Report (vol. 2) page 1, which states that the Zapruder film entered the public domain on August 1, 1998 after the U.S. excersized its emminent domain rights over the film and offered to pay the Zapruder estate the "just compensation" required under the Fifth Amendment.

     What have I missed?

     Paul Heald
     <heald[_at_]jd.lawsch.uga.edu>