[31681] | 1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
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| 6 | <Metadata name="gsdlsourcefilename">import/englishhistory.net/tudor/art.html</Metadata>
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| 12 | <Metadata name="Language">en</Metadata>
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| 13 | <Metadata name="Encoding">windows_1252</Metadata>
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| 14 | <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
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| 15 | <Metadata name="Page_topic">museum art reproductions right to display public domain images Bridgeman vs Corel copyright</Metadata>
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| 16 | <Metadata name="Content">right to display public domain images Bridgeman vs Corel copyright</Metadata>
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| 17 | <Metadata name="Title">The Right to Display Public Domain Images: Copyright and fair use, Bridgeman vs Corel, museums vs the public, etc</Metadata>
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| 18 | <Metadata name="FileFormat">HTML</Metadata>
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| 19 | <Metadata name="URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/art.html</Metadata>
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| 23 | <Metadata name="lastmodifieddate">20180326</Metadata>
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| 25 | <Metadata name="oailastmodifieddate">20180326</Metadata>
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| 28 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">copyrightelizabeth.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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| 29 | </Description>
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| 30 | <Content>
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| 31 |
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| 32 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
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| 33 | <tr>
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| 34 | <td width="14%" height="29"></td>
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| 35 | <td valign="top" width="73%" height="29">&nbsp;</td>
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| 36 | <td width="13%" height="29"></td>
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| 37 | </tr>
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| 38 | <tr>
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| 39 | <td width="14%" height="3"></td>
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| 40 | <td width="73%" height="3" bgcolor="#000000">&nbsp;</td>
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| 41 | <td width="13%" height="3"></td>
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| 42 | </tr>
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| 43 | <tr>
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| 44 | <td width="14%" height="610"></td>
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| 45 | <td valign="top" width="73%" height="610">
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| 46 | <p align="center"><br>
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| 47 | <img border="0" src="_httpdocimg_/copyrightba.gif" width="422" height="162"></p>
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| 48 | <blockquote>
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| 49 | <hr>
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| 50 | <P align=left><FONT size=2 face="Arial">I created this page in 1999 as a common sense
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| 51 | <I>introduction</I> to copyright terms.&nbsp; It also discusses the Bridgeman vs
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| 52 | Corel decision and public domain issues.</FONT></P>
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| 53 | <P align=left><font face="Arial" size="2">The issue of copyright was most
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| 54 | eloquently discussed - and the concept of public domain most eloquently
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| 55 | defended - by the historian Thomas Macaulay in 1841.&nbsp; Please
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| 56 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.baen.com%2flibrary%2fpalaver4.htm">read his speeches</a>.</font></P>
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| 57 | <P align=left><font face="Arial"><font color="#FF0000"><b>updated 1
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| 58 | October 2004:</b></font>&nbsp; I had to share this news with public domain
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| 59 | advocates.&nbsp; I was reading through some of the Congressional speeches
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| 60 | regarding copyright and came across this gem - Congresswoman Mary Bono
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| 61 | (whose late husband pushed through one of the most disastrous copyright
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| 62 | laws ever) was reminded that the US Constitution prohibits perpetual
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| 63 | intellectual property rights.&nbsp; Her response?&nbsp; The copyright term
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| 64 | should be &quot;forever minus one day&quot;.</font></P>
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| 65 | <P align=left><font face="Arial">I'm serious.</font></P>
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| 66 | <P align=left><font face="Arial">If that doesn't offend and alarm you,
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| 67 | what will?&nbsp; If she had her way, you wouldn't be able to read The
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| 68 | Bible for free.&nbsp; Please consider this issue when you vote.&nbsp; This
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| 69 | is one of the great unreported stories in the US, Europe and now, sadly,
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| 70 | Australia.&nbsp; Yes, the Aussies signed (August 2004) a free-trade
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| 71 | agreement with the US which required that Australia accept our draconian
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| 72 | copyright laws.</font></P>
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| 73 | <hr>
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| 74 | </blockquote>
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| 75 | <p><font face="Arial"><B><FONT size=4>Definition of terms used on this
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| 76 | page -</FONT></B></font></p>
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| 77 |
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| 78 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>COPYRIGHT - </B>The legal right given to a writer, composer, artist,
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| 79 | or a distributor to exclusive production, sale, or distribution of their
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| 80 | work. <BR><B>Why does COPYRIGHT exist?</B> <BR>It allows artists to profit
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| 81 | from their work.&nbsp; Profit, in turn, creates an incentive to work and
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| 82 | distribute the work.</font></P>
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| 83 |
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| 84 | <P>&nbsp;</P>
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| 85 |
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| 86 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>PUBLIC DOMAIN</B> - the status of publications, products, and
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| 87 | processes that are not protected under patent or copyright.&nbsp; All
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| 88 | images at this site are in the public domain, and have been for several
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| 89 | hundred years. <BR><B>Why does PUBLIC DOMAIN exist?</B> <BR>It exists to
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| 90 | allow the free exchange of knowledge.&nbsp; If it did not, museums would
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| 91 | be allowed to keep images under perpetual copyright, thus denying everyone
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| 92 | the opportunity to view, critique, or otherwise examine works. <BR>Please
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| 93 | note that most 20th century works of art are not yet considered part of
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| 94 | the PUBLIC DOMAIN. <BR><FONT size=-1>Click
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| 95 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.unc.edu%2f%7eunclng%2fpublic-d.htm">here</a> to view a chart of
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| 96 | when works pass into the public domain.</FONT> </font></P>
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| 97 |
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| 98 | <P>&nbsp;</P>
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| 99 |
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| 100 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>FAIR USE</B> - Fair use is a limitation on the exclusive rights of
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| 101 | the copyright owner; in other words, it allows reasonable public access to
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| 102 | copyrighted works. <BR>The idea is an important part of the English
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| 103 | common-law tradition. <BR><B>Why does FAIR USE exist?</B> <BR>FAIR USE
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| 104 | allows people to use images and written works without compensating the
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| 105 | original writer/creator, as long as they act in good faith and do not
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| 106 | profit from reproducing the work.&nbsp; Education, parody, criticism, news
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| 107 | reporting, etc are all examples of fair use. <BR>The idea of FAIR USE has
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| 108 | guided the use of reproductions of works for years.&nbsp; In most cases,
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| 109 | the lack of commercial gain is necessary for a claim of fair use.&nbsp; If
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| 110 | you are a non-profit website designed for educational purposes, you are in
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| 111 | the perfect position to claim FAIR USE of images which are already in the
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| 112 | PUBLIC DOMAIN. </font></P>
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| 113 | <blockquote>
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| 114 | <HR width="100%">
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| 115 |
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| 116 | </blockquote>
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| 117 |
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| 118 | <P align="center"><i><font face="Arial">
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| 119 | <img border="0" src="_httpdocimg_/copyrightelizabeth.jpg" align="left" alt="Wm Scrots's portrait of 13 year old Princess Elizabeth, c1546" width="250" height="334"></font></i></P>
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| 120 |
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| 121 | <P><i><font face="Arial">Yes, we live in a world where the Scrots portrait
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| 122 | of the future Queen Elizabeth I is considered to be under copyright - but
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| 123 | Elizabeth's own letters / speeches / poetry have been in the public domain
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| 124 | for centuries....&nbsp; Funny.</font></i></P>
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| 125 |
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| 126 | <P><font face="Arial">For a long time, the FAIR USE doctrine occupied a grey area of law,
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| 127 | usually decided on a case-by-case basis.&nbsp; Typically, if someone were
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| 128 | profiting from another person's work which was not in the PUBLIC DOMAIN,
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| 129 | it was not considered fair use.&nbsp; Museums typically did not sue
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| 130 | non-profit websites which reproduced images for educational
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| 131 | purposes.&nbsp; If they had, the court would have forced them to prove a
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| 132 | substantial loss of profit from the use.&nbsp; Understandably, such proof
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| 133 | would not exist and the court would not look favorably upon such a
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| 134 | vindictive case, particularly since the images were already in the public
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| 135 | domain. </font> </P>
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| 136 | <P><font face="Arial">However, on 18th February 1999, the grey area was cleared
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| 137 | considerably.&nbsp; Fair Use was no longer a murky legal issue to be
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| 138 | debated by webmasters and museums.&nbsp; The United States District Court
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| 139 | for the Southern District of New York decided the following case -
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| 140 | </font>
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| 141 | </P>
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| 142 | <CENTER>
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| 143 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>The Bridgeman Art Library, Ltd., Plaintiff, - versus - Corel
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| 144 | Corporation, et ano., Defendants.</B> <BR><B>97 Civ. 6232
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| 145 | (LAK)</B></font></P></CENTER>
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| 146 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>Their decision was one of the most important copyright decision
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| 147 | affecting museums ever filed.&nbsp; The decision was based on both US and
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| 148 | UK copyright law.</B> </font> </P>
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| 149 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>WHO WAS INVOLVED IN THE CASE &amp; WHAT WAS IT ABOUT?</B> <BR>The
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| 150 | Bridgeman Art Library had made photographic reproductions of famous works
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| 151 | of art from museums around the world (works already in the public
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| 152 | domain.)&nbsp; The Corel Corporation used those reproductions for an
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| 153 | educational CD-ROM without paying Bridgeman.&nbsp; Bridgeman claimed
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| 154 | copyright infringement. </font> </P>
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| 155 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>WHAT DID THE COURT DECIDE?</B> <BR>The Court ruled that
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| 156 | reproductions of images in the public domain are not protected by
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| 157 | copyright if the reproductions are slavish or lacking in originality.
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| 158 | </font> </P>
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| 159 | <P><font face="Arial">In their opinion, the Court noted:&nbsp; ''There is little doubt that many
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| 160 | photographs, probably the overwhelming majority, reflect at least the
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| 161 | modest amount of originality required for copyright protection....&nbsp;
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| 162 | But 'slavish copying', although doubtless requiring technical skill and
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| 163 | effort, does not qualify.'' </font> </P>
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| 164 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>In other words, an exact reproduction of an image in the public
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| 165 | domain does not possess creativity itself.&nbsp; Therefore, the
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| 166 | reproduction is not protected under copyright law.</B> </font> </P>
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| 167 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?</B> <BR>It's important to me because it
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| 168 | allows me to share the beautiful images at my sites.&nbsp; But it's
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| 169 | important to everyone because it means that museums cannot assert
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| 170 | perpetual copyright to works.&nbsp; In other words, museums cannot take a
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| 171 | picture of an old painting about to become part of the public domain,
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| 172 | claim a new copyright through the reproduction, and do the same process
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| 173 | over and over so that the painting never truly enters the public
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| 174 | domain.&nbsp; They would simply be taking the work from one private domain
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| 175 | to another, thus invalidating the spirit of copyright law. <BR>In short,
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| 176 | simply transferring an exact image from one medium to another does not
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| 177 | create a new copyright. </font> </P>
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| 178 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>WHAT DOES THE DECISION COVER?</B> <BR>This decision concerns only
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| 179 | reproductions of two-dimensional works (like paintings or drawings.)&nbsp;
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| 180 | Reproductions of three-dimensional works, such as sculpture, possess the
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| 181 | necessary creativity for a separate copyright - after all, the
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| 182 | photographer must choose an angle to shoot from, lighting, backdrop,
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| 183 | etc&nbsp; In other words, he is not merely reproducing an exact image.
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| 184 | </font>
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| 185 | </P>
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| 186 | <P><font face="Arial">Also, please note that a non-exact reproduction of
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| 187 | an image is not covered.&nbsp; </font> </P>
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| 188 | <P><font face="Arial">This is an important point - only EXACT COPIES of the paintings are
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| 189 | affected by the decision.&nbsp; The decision is based upon the correct
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| 190 | premise that 'slavish copies' do not possess any originality or creativity
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| 191 | of their own, and are thus ineligible for copyright. </font> </P>
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| 192 | <P><font face="Arial">The Court explained this point further: <BR>''There has been no
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| 193 | independent creation, no distinguishable variation from pre-existing
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| 194 | works, nothing recognizably the author's own contribution''....</font></P>
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| 195 | <P><font face="Arial">This merely reflected an earlier ruling by the Supreme Court which
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| 196 | stated that "sweat of the brow" (for example, the act of reproducing a
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| 197 | work) is not the "creative spark" which deserves copyright.</font></P>
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| 198 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>THE ENTIRE TEXT OF THE COURT'S RULING IS AVAILABLE ONLINE at the
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| 199 | First Amendment Law Library -</B> <BR><B><A
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| 200 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.constitution.org%2f1ll%2fcourt%2ffed%2fbridgman.html">http://www.constitution.org/1ll/court/fed/bridgman.html</A></B>
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| 201 | </font>
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| 202 | </P>
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| 203 | <P><font face="Arial">I encourage visitors to read the decision.&nbsp; Judge Kaplan is
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| 204 | remarkably concise, particularly when compared to other jurists.&nbsp;
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| 205 | (Note: the original decision has been replaced by Judge Kaplan's
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| 206 | memorandum opinion after Bridgeman moved for reargument and
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| 207 | reconsideration following his summary judgment.)</font></P>
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| 208 | <P></P>
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| 209 | <blockquote>
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| 210 | <HR width="100%">
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| 211 |
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| 212 | </blockquote>
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| 213 |
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| 214 | <P><font face="Arial">It is interesting to note that many museums, and the American
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| 215 | Association of Museums, were unhappy that Bridgeman brought the case
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| 216 | against Corel, surmising (correctly, it turned out) that the Court would
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| 217 | not rule in their favor.&nbsp; In fact, the Court quoted a former general
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| 218 | counsel from the Museum of Modern Art, New York in rendering its decision<FONT size=4>.&nbsp; </FONT><BR>
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| 219 | Museum directors, like everyone else, knew that exact reproductions did
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| 220 | not possess the necessary creativity to have their own copyright.&nbsp;
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| 221 | After all, if such a standard did exist, I could copy out John Keats's
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| 222 | poetry word-for-word and then claim I was entitled to a copyright to the
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| 223 | poems.&nbsp; Such an idea is ludicrous.&nbsp; Keats's poetry
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| 224 | is in the public domain.</font></P>
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| 225 | <P><font face="Arial">And if his original poems are in the public domain, why aren't
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| 226 | portraits of him painted at the same time?&nbsp; </font> </P>
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| 227 | <P><font face="Arial">Exactly.&nbsp; They are - museums would just prefer otherwise.</font></P>
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| 228 | <P><B><FONT size=4 face="Arial">In closing, I would like to point out three things -
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| 229 | </FONT></B></P>
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| 230 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>First, the Bridgeman vs Corel decision will not bankrupt
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| 231 | museums.&nbsp;</B> It is true that museums make money selling
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| 232 | reproductions of the images in their collections.&nbsp; However,
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| 233 | commercial publishers will still want a high quality reproduction of the
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| 234 | image which can only truly be provided by the museum which controls access
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| 235 | to the painting; publishers don't care much about copyright, only the
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| 236 | best-looking image.&nbsp; Webmasters, at best, can only scan reproductions
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| 237 | and even the best scanner cannot capture the quality of a museum-approved
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| 238 | reproduction.&nbsp; And webmasters are not selling reproductions which
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| 239 | claim to be made by the museums which own the original work; that would be
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| 240 | fraudulent and illegal.&nbsp; </font> </P>
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| 241 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>Second, most museums hold their collections in the public trust and
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| 242 | exist primarily as educational/cultural facilities.&nbsp; </B>The public domain
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| 243 | images in their collections are exactly that - in the public domain, and
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| 244 | we are the public.&nbsp; Most museums also receive money and special tax
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| 245 | breaks from the cities/states/countries in which they are located.&nbsp;
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| 246 | Why?&nbsp; Because they are public institutions.&nbsp; </font> </P>
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| 247 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>Third - and perhaps most importantly - copyrights and public domain
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| 248 | and fair use are all terms which exist together for a reason.
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| 249 | </B><BR><B>Copyrights are necessary because</B> they allow artists/writers
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| 250 | to profit from their own work.&nbsp; And profit, of course, provides
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| 251 | incentive to create more work. <BR><B>Public Domain is necessary
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| 252 | because</B> it allows for the free exchange of ideas, a necessary part of
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| 253 | life in a free society. <BR><B>Fair Use is necessary because</B> it allows
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| 254 | the public some access to copyrighted work, as long as they do not profit
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| 255 | from it.&nbsp; After all, you should not be allowed to essentially steal
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| 256 | money for another person's hard work.&nbsp; However, fair use allows news
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| 257 | reporting, book reviews, research reports, educational works, etc to
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| 258 | discuss the work. </font> </P>
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| 259 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>Or, as the US Supreme Court put it:</B> <BR><B>"Creative work is to
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| 260 | be encouraged and rewarded, but private motivation must ultimately serve
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| 261 | the cause of promoting broad public availability of literature, music, and
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| 262 | the other arts. The immediate effect of our copyright law is to secure a
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| 263 | fair return for an "author's" creative labor. But the ultimate aim is, by
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| 264 | this incentive, to stimulate artistic creativity for the general public
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| 265 | good."</B></font></P>
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| 266 | <P><b><font face="Arial">Or, as I put it:<br>Why should a museum's
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| 267 | copyright exceed the artist's personal copyright?&nbsp; Yes, that's right
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| 268 | - artists and their descendants do not receive money from museums making
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| 269 | reproductions of their works.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp; Because the works are in
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| 270 | the public domain.&nbsp; Copyright has passed for the artist!&nbsp; They
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| 271 | can no longer profit from their work.&nbsp; Yet museums are claiming they
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| 272 | possess an endless copyright of the work simply because they own the
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| 273 | original (which is in the public domain.)&nbsp; If it sounds absurd, well,
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| 274 | it is absurd.&nbsp; It's absurd and offensive and illegal.</font></b></P>
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| 275 | <P><b><font face="Arial">Take a moment to imagine Van Gogh's heirs suing
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| 276 | over all those coffee mugs with his famous sunflowers, or the endless
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| 277 | posters of his starry skies.&nbsp; Exactly.&nbsp; You would laugh at the
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| 278 | news.&nbsp; Now take a moment to laugh at museums.&nbsp; </font></b></P>
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| 279 | <blockquote>
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| 280 | <HR width="100%">
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| 281 |
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| 282 | </blockquote>
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| 283 |
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| 284 | <P><font face="Arial">In a perfect world, the artist profits from their work for a very
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| 285 | lengthy period of time and then the work becomes part of our cultural
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| 286 | heritage. </font></P>
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| 287 |
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| 288 | <P><font face="Arial">In our imperfect world, however, museums often attempt to
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| 289 | intimidate webmasters and others into either paying large sums for
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| 290 | reproduction rights, or to remove the images entirely.&nbsp; They count
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| 291 | upon webmasters having neither the legal knowledge to defend their rights
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| 292 | or having money to hire legal counsel.&nbsp; Most museums, of course, have
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| 293 | large budgets and numerous attorneys.&nbsp; And they know it's far easier
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| 294 | to intimidate the 'little guy' rather than a wealthy company which can tie
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| 295 | a case up in court for many expensive years.</font></P>
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| 296 |
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| 297 | <P><font face="Arial">They also know that
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| 298 | Bridgeman vs Corel has clarified the formerly vague concept of fair
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| 299 | use.&nbsp; Before, they could shape fair use to their own needs.&nbsp; Now,
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| 300 | however, fair use has been quite clearly defined. </font></P>
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| 301 |
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| 302 | <P><font face="Arial">It is important to
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| 303 | remember that museums were first created in the 18th century to allow the
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| 304 | public free access to their cultural treasures, not to make money selling
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| 305 | t-shirts, mugs, posters, etc&nbsp; I understand that they wish to raise
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| 306 | funds for their work, but - as I explained earlier - Bridgeman vs Corel
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| 307 | will not bankrupt museums.&nbsp; After all, in the early 1980s, the movie
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| 308 | industry believed VCRs would destroy Hollywood.&nbsp; Obviously, that
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| 309 | hasn't happened.</font></P>
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| 310 |
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| 311 | <P><font face="Arial">In light of the Bridgeman vs Corel decision, museums
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| 312 | have decided to focus on controlling access rather than subverting the
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| 313 | concept of public domain.&nbsp; This, too, has led to some rather
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| 314 | questionable practices.&nbsp; Think about it for a moment - if a unique
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| 315 | work of art is in the public domain and the museum willfully disallows
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| 316 | access to the work (for reproduction purposes), aren't they guilty of
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| 317 | creating a monopoly?&nbsp; And of attempting to create an illegal
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| 318 | perpetual copyright?&nbsp; Just a few points to ponder, among many others.</font></P>
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| 319 | <blockquote>
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| 320 | <HR width="100%">
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| 321 |
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| 322 | </blockquote>
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| 323 |
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| 324 | <P><font face="Arial">I have (very quickly) created this page to help webmasters understand
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| 325 | their rights.&nbsp; I apologize if something is explained badly, or not at
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| 326 | all.</font></P>
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| 327 | <P><font face="Arial"><B>Please keep in mind that the all-important Bridgeman vs Corel
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| 328 | decision applies only to exact reproductions of two-dimensional works of
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| 329 | art already in the public domain.</B> <BR>And so drawings of
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| 330 | Winnie-the-Pooh, for example, which are still under copyright, cannot be
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| 331 | reproduced on your webpage; neither can a book written in 1970, or a song
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| 332 | recorded in 1950, or painting made in 1945.&nbsp; Unfortunately, copyright
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| 333 | extensions are a fact of life throughout most of the world.&nbsp; In the
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| 334 | US, for example, copyright has been extended 11 times in the last 40
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| 335 | years.&nbsp; However, all works prior to the 20th century are in the
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| 336 | public domain.&nbsp; <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.unc.edu%2f%7eunclng%2fpublic-d.htm">
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| 337 | Check the charts</a> for 20th century works.</font></P>
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| 338 | <P><font face="Arial">Remember - when in doubt, ask.&nbsp; <A
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| 339 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.nolo.com">Nolo.com</A> has a great legal advice section.
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| 340 | </font>
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| 341 | </P>
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| 342 | <P><font face="Arial">And give thanks to the US District Court for the
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| 343 | Southern District of New York.&nbsp; In our age of increasing mergers
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| 344 | between large, global multi-media companies and the pre-eminence of a few
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| 345 | large museums, it's possible that - one day - a handful of
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| 346 | companies/museums could control access to most of the great works of art
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| 347 | in human history.&nbsp; Public domain guarantees us access to those works,
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| 348 | and without it we would be....&nbsp; Well, we would be stuck at the table
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| 349 | of mediocrity, denied our right to explore the best parts of our heritage. </font></P>
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| 350 | <P align="center"><font face="Arial">-<i>Marilee</i><br></font></P>
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| 351 | <blockquote>
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| 352 | <hr>
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| 353 | </blockquote>
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| 354 | <P align=center><b><font face="Arial">Updates and Links</font></b></P>
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| 355 | <P align=left><FONT size=2 face="Arial">For now (October 2004), the Bridgeman decision
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| 356 | stands.&nbsp; If anything changes, I will post it here.</FONT></P>
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| 357 | <P align=left><font face="Arial" size="2">Please note that
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| 358 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.iht.com%2farticles%2f114102.html">recent EU-sponsored
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| 359 | copyright changes</a> further extend copyright terms of 20th century works.&nbsp;
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| 360 | Books, music, etc which might have been scheduled to pass into the public
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| 361 | domain are now protected for several more decades.&nbsp; (Yet another
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| 362 | sell-out to the growing 'content industry'....)&nbsp; If you live in
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| 363 | Europe, please research the new terms.&nbsp; If the above link has
|
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| 364 | expired, simply type 'EU copyright law 2003' into a search engine and
|
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| 365 | start exploring.&nbsp; Though most articles focus on digital music and
|
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| 366 | film, the law applies to all creative works.&nbsp; It's even worse than the DMCA.&nbsp;
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| 367 | Egads!&nbsp; I never thought a law could be worse than the DMCA.</font></P>
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| 368 | <P align=left><font face="Arial" size="2">Please
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| 369 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.cni.org%2fHforums%2fcni-copyright%2f1999-02%2f0084.html">click
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| 370 | here</a> to read an interesting 'question and answer' about Bridgeman.&nbsp;
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| 371 | Professor Ochoa's response is reasonable and apt, particularly this
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| 372 | comment: 'Where the public does not have access to the original painting,
|
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| 373 | the ONLY way it has to reproduce the painting itself is to reproduce a
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| 374 | reproduction of it. Unless we hold that the Bridgeman photographs can be
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| 375 | freely copied, the painting, as a practical matter, is not in the public
|
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| 376 | domain.'&nbsp; <br>In other words, unless museums are willing to allow
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| 377 | people to photograph the original work, the paintings are not truly in the
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| 378 | public domain.&nbsp; I do disagree with his closing comment, in which he
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| 379 | attempts to distinguish between US copyright law and other nations.&nbsp;
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| 380 | The concepts of 'fair use' and 'public domain' are recognized on an
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| 381 | international level.&nbsp; Also, is a person making a slavish photographic
|
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| 382 | reproduction of a work of art truly the <i>author</i> of the photograph?&nbsp;
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| 383 | This point was discussed in the Bridgeman decision.&nbsp; The term <i>
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| 384 | copyist</i> is far more appropriate, despite the amount of work involved
|
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| 385 | in taking the photograph.&nbsp; An apt comparison is this (earlier
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| 386 | discussed with the example of Keats's poetry) - if a
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| 387 | photographer who merely reproduces a work of art is the <i>author</i> of
|
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| 388 | the reproduction, then someone who copies a novel out word-for-word is
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| 389 | also its <i>author</i>.&nbsp; Clearly, this cannot be the case.&nbsp; Yet
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| 390 | the amount of work required to photograph the painting is the same as the
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| 391 | work involved in copying out a book by hand.&nbsp; <b>In other words, <i>
|
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| 392 | labor</i> does not imply originality, or a creative spark.</b>&nbsp; You
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| 393 | can take three minutes or three days to make a reproduction.&nbsp; You can
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| 394 | use a camera or Martian technology.&nbsp; It doesn't matter.&nbsp; You are
|
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| 395 | merely copying the work.&nbsp; If it
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| 396 | seems as though I'm being simplistic here, rest assured that I am - and it
|
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| 397 | is deliberate.&nbsp; This issue is very simple and analogies help reveal
|
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| 398 | the simplicity.</font></P>
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| 399 | <P align=left><font face="Arial" size="2">In any case, Bridgeman vs Corel
|
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| 400 | was not concerned with the <i>processes</i> of reproduction
|
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| 401 | since those are covered by patent law.&nbsp; It was concerned with
|
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| 402 | copyright.&nbsp; Copyright exists to reward the creative spark /
|
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| 403 | originality.&nbsp; It does not exist to reward labor.&nbsp; </font></P>
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| 404 | <P align=left><font face="Arial" size="2">You may wonder why I'm going on
|
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| 405 | and on about the photography angle.&nbsp; It's because museums have made
|
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| 406 | it their new argument for copyright protection and against Bridgeman.&nbsp;
|
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| 407 | They claim the court did not fully understand or appreciate the labor
|
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| 408 | involved in making photographic reproductions.&nbsp; But they are being
|
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| 409 | disingenuous, as my above paragraph demonstrates.&nbsp; Also, Judge Kaplan
|
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| 410 | most assuredly considered the labor involved.&nbsp; No one is denying that
|
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| 411 | photographers labor to create the reproduction.&nbsp; But why should that
|
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| 412 | work be used to create a perpetual copyright for something in the public
|
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| 413 | domain?!&nbsp; Museums are mute on that point.&nbsp; The photographers are
|
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| 414 | paid for their labor.&nbsp; The museums deny the public access to the
|
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| 415 | works and therefore control the 'licensing' of the best reproductions.&nbsp;
|
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| 416 | They are paid for the licenses.&nbsp; Who suffers in this situation?&nbsp;
|
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| 417 | The public!&nbsp; By law, we should be able to go to a museum and demand
|
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| 418 | access to a painting in the public domain so we can take photographs.&nbsp;
|
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| 419 | But museums won't let us!&nbsp; I know this because I've tried it.&nbsp;
|
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| 420 | Museums simply don't want competition for their 'officially-licensed'
|
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| 421 | merchandise.&nbsp; It's all about profit, - if they were concerned with
|
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| 422 | 'artistic integrity', they would allow the public right of access or
|
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| 423 | provide an approved, high-quality reproduction to anyone who asked.&nbsp;
|
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| 424 | Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen....&nbsp; </font></P>
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| 425 | <P align=left><font face="Arial" size="2">If the concept of public domain
|
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| 426 | is to have any meaning at all, then exact photographic reproductions
|
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| 427 | cannot be given copyright.&nbsp; It's a matter of principle - and common
|
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| 428 | sense - and public interest.</font></P>
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| 429 | <p align="center"><br>
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| 430 | <font face="Arial"><font size="2">
|
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| 431 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fhomepages.law.asu.edu%2f%7edkarjala%2fOpposingCopyrightExtension">Opposing Copyright Extension,
|
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| 432 | Protecting the Public Domain</a><br></font><font size="1">The best source
|
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| 433 | on the internet.&nbsp; It contains information on the disastrous Jan 2003 Eldred
|
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| 434 | ruling by the US Supreme Court.</font></font></p>
|
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| 435 | <P align="center"><a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2f">
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| 436 | <font size="2" face="Arial">to EnglishHistory.net</font></a></P>
|
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| 437 | </td>
|
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| 438 | <td width="13%" height="610"></td>
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| 439 | </tr>
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| 440 | </table>
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| 441 |
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| 442 |
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| 443 |
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| 444 | <!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fhostingprod.com%2fjs%5fsource%2fgeov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082656" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
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| 446 | </Content>
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| 447 | </Section>
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| 448 | </Archive>
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