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Finding photos on a CD that you bought at a house clearance sale does not magically transfer their copyright to you and give you the right to publish them in th
by skwirl 7y ago
Finding photos on a CD that you bought at a house clearance sale does not magically transfer their copyright to you and give you the right to publish them in the media.
- fortran77 7y agoThat's correct. But sometimes you just have to use your best judgement, and hope that the potential legal exposure is overshadowed by the benefit.
- na85 7y agoOnly on HN would this be the top comment.
- yitchelle 7y agoI wonder what their legal status would be if the photo's owners were not contactable or identifiable? In the article, it said "Dr Burgess said he and Mr Scott had so far been unsuccessful in tracking down the photographer or any relatives."
- Bluecobra 7y agoMy guess is that you will need to wait 70 years for it to enter the public domain or until any heirs are found. If you decide to sell a book with these photos, you risk of some rightful heir coming out of the woodwork and suing you for damages. The case of Vivian Maier comes to mind.
- etcet 7y agoIt'd be an orphan work: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_works_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_works_in_the_United_Sta...
- reallydude 7y agoThat is, unfortunately, true. Death of the owner still puts the rights on the estate receivership. Unlikely to be connected, but legally pertinent.
- CamperBob2 7y agoThe so-called "hackers" around here aren't what they used to be.
- qntty 7y agoIndeed, sometimes I miss the old Slashdot