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