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Two questions, old post cards and internet wizardry


Beryl
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I have some old family photos (dating back to don't know when probably pre WW2) are in the format of postcards.

Does anyone know when the copyright expires on old photos ?

The company that took them is no longer in existance.

Secondly, does anyone know of any FREE internet program where I can tinker about with photos and create different effects, mosaic, turn them into 'oil paintings' etc?

Thank you

 

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I could easily be wrong but if they are pictures of your family  in practice I don't think there is really a copyright problem, unless you are going to produce something commercial from them ? Someone will now say that there is ......[:)]

Are you using Windows ? What about Microsoft photo editor ? Often comes bundled with Word, Excel etc.

Or if you have a digital camera, such programs are often included.

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[quote user="Beryl"]

I have some old family photos (dating back to don't know when probably pre WW2) are in the format of postcards.

Does anyone know when the copyright expires on old photos ?

The company that took them is no longer in existance.

 

[/quote]

Your wording suggests that the photos were originally taken by a professional photographer rather than family snaps. If so they may still be subject to copyright - but if the actual business is no longer in existence it may prove impossible to find the current copyright holder. On the other hand as they are photos of your family members then it is unlikely that anyone would pursue you over it. A general waiver would be a good idea (give the name of the original photographer and say that you have been unable to find evidence of copyright holders).

Finally - if any of the subjects are still alive you should get their permission to publish their pictures.

Libraries and archives who publish digitised images of their photo collections usually put adverts in local papers outlining their intentions and asking anyone who believes they may have copyright on any of the photos to contact them. This shouldn't be necessary in your case!

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Correct, Chris, the copyright will remain with the photographer as long as it is in force, but the family member may well claim to have reproduction rights as long, as you say, a disclaimer is made if they are published and an offer to acknowledge copyright is made.

As far as software is concerned, I have always found that free software is good value - it is worth exactly what you pay for it - but I have quite high standards, so use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.

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Beryl, If you go to the Family History forum, Roots Chat (http://www.rootschat.com) they have a copyright team. A brief search seemed to indicate that the photographer retains copyright for 70 years, I suspect if you searched further or asked the question the team there could clarify the position should the photographers business no longer be in existance.

Perhaps the ages of the relatives in the photographs will help you date them ?

Good Luck with it.......

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I apologise for a rather lengthy response on the subject.

The general rules for published material are as follows:

  • Copyright can pass to the heirs of the original copyright holder under some circumstances.
  • Copyright expires 70 years after a known photographer's death
  • or 70 years after the publication of the work of an unknown photographer

However there are a number of exceptions to this, due to copyright legislation in place before 1989:

  • Known photographer; photograph was taken before 1 June 1957; copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author

  • Known photographer; photograph was taken on or after 1 June 1957 and before 1 August 1989; photographer died more than 20 years before publication; copyright expires 50 years after the end of the year of first publication

  • Known photographer; photograph was taken on or after 1 June 1957 and before 1 August 1989; photographer died less than 20 years before publication; copyright expires 70 years after the end of the year of the author's death

  • Crown copyright applies; protection is for a maximum of 125 calendar years unless published commercially, in which case a photograph is protected for only 50 years from the end of the year in which it was created

 Where the photographer is not known:

  • 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the photograph was made (i.e. taken); or,

  • 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the photograph is made available to the public if this happens during the period of 70 years from making.

  • It is important to note, though, that a photograph cannot be of unknown authorship if the identity of the author is once known and, if at any point the identity of the author becomes known, the life plus 70 year term applies.

  • Where a photograph is taken jointly by two or more people, the copyright term is calculated from the death of the last to die or the last known author to die.

  • Where the photograph has its origin outside the UK or another country of the EU, the term of protection may also be shorter if it is shorter in the country of origin.

In the case of photographs taken between 1945 and 1996:

  • Copyright exists for at least as long as post 1 January 1996.

  • For a photograph taken on or after 1 June 1957 but before 1 August 1989 attract a term of protection of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the photograph was published, although any photographs still unpublished on 1 August 1989 are protected only until the end of 2039. These terms will continue to apply if they are longer than the terms worked out on the same basis as for photographs taken on or after 1 January 1996

  • For a photograph taken on of after 1 August 1989 but before 1 January 1996 and the author or all the authors are unknown, the copyright term is the longer of either 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the photograph is first made available to the public or the term applying to photographs taken on or after 1 January 1996.

In the case of photographs taken before 1 January 1945:

  • For such photographs, copyright would have expired on 31 December 1994 or earlier. However, if such a photograph were protected on 1 July 1995 in another European Union state under legislation relating to copyright or related rights, copyright would have been revived from 1 January 1996 to the end of the term applying to photographs taken on or after 1 January 1996. In deciding whether a photograph was protected in another EEA state, it is, of course, the law of that state which must be interpreted and the criteria used to decide whether a photograph should receive any protection at all would need to be considered very carefully.
    The state where the longest copyright protection may have existed on 1 July 1995 is Germany, which generally had a term of life plus 70 years, but it is likely that not all photographs which qualified for copyright protection in the UK would have been protected in Germany. Copyright law in a number of other EU states could also have given a longer term of protection for a photograph than in the UK.
    Where copyright in a photograph was revived on 1 January 1996, there are transitional provisions and savings for those who were exploiting or want to exploit the photograph.

Unpublished material

The rules for unpublished material are more complicated, and are as follows:

  • Copyright expires 70 years after the creation of any unpublished photograph taken before 1 June 1957

  • Copyright expires on 31 December 2039 for any unpublished photograph taken on or after 1 June 1957 and before 1 January 1969, if the author died before 1 January 1969

  • Copyright expires on 31 December 2039 for any unpublished photograph taken on or after 1 January 1969

  • Copyright expires 70 years after the creation of any unpublished photograph taken after 1 January 1969

With regard to the subject matter in the photographs, if any are still alive, you can simply ask them to sign a 'Model Release' which effectively gives you permission to 'use' their image.

With software - you get what you pay for generally. If you don't want the expense of Adobe Photoshop, an excellent alternative is Corel PaintShop Pro. However, in order to get a good qualty copy of the image, you will first need a high quality scanner capable of making a high resolution copy of the image.

If I get chance, I'll post some examples of old photograph postcards which have been retouched and reproduced for sale within my village.

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Super.

A BIG thank you to everyone for your help and recommendations. The reason for trying out a free one is that I am not very technically minded and I want to have a play around before I invest in anything pricey.

I am hoping to use the photo on a website in due course, hence the concerns over copyright, but I think these concerns have been abated a little now.

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[IMG]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd180/sandcatcher/MiningCampcopy1.jpg[/IMG]

This is the original old photograph postcard, once repaired and restored.

[IMG]http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd180/sandcatcher/MiningCamp-Edited2a.jpg[/IMG]

This is the revamped version (2006) which has been Hand Tinted and reproduced.

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