Copyright Info

Hello,

Does anyone know anything regarding copyright info for the Sanke cards or more specifically whether anyone holds the copyright for them? Also, does anyone know copyright law regarding using public domain images from WWI for a commercial publication? So far I have been unsuccessful in acquiring information regarding this. Thanks much for any input.

Regards,

Jasta

[Jasta6]

Originally Posted by Jasta

Hello,

Does anyone know anything regarding copyright info for the Sanke cards or more specifically whether anyone holds the copyright for them?

IA few years back I was using an image from the Great War and was looking for permission to do so. I was told (by the person who had the image) copyrights only go to 75 years for photos. So you should be all right with any images. As long as the current owner of the image hasn't put a copyright on it.

I no lawyer but I think you should be OK on images.

As with public domain, I'd email the owner for permission to use it, as with painting images or other art work. Copies of WW1 era photos, as long as there not used for profit and you give credit to the origin from which you got it you should be fine too. But I'd ask for permission

Jim P

Hi Jasta,

I concur with Jim. Actually the original photographer (or photography company) who took the photo owns the copyright to the image for 75 years after it was taken (by U.S. laws). A copyright to an image can be bought, but this is a rare occurence (although there is a drive by some rich investors to change this).
As far as Sankes are concerned, I wouldn't worry, just look at them the same as you would baseball trading cards. There were so many printed, and in return many were published over the years in various books, that nobody knows the original origin of the images created from them. Besides, Mr. Sanke has been dead for quite some time

regards,

Darren

Hello Jim and Darren,

Thanks much for your info and comments. I know that Charles Woolley recently released an entire book on the Sanke Cards and was wondering if anyone had the book and could determine if there were any copyrights held. I had read that if the photo was of someone "recognizable", it might be an infringement to utilize it for commercial purposes regardless of the passage of time but I have no real concrete information on this.

I have also read that as of 1997, anything prior to 1922 was essentially free and clear of copyright ownership unless one had continued to renew 28 year extensions on copyrights they had originally owned or purchased.

I'm getting close to publishing a WWI aerial combat game that's been in the making for several years and am trying to resolve this issue or be able to demonstrate a good faith effort so it doesn't come back to bite me. The ability to incorporate period images and photos into the games graphics are important to the ambience of the game and something I'd like to include but I don't want to violate some obscure ownership legalities so am trying to get concrete info on this.

Regards,

George

[kugelfang]

Here's a link to U.S. copyright law, Title 17: http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/us...1_17_10_1.html

Though, I imagine if you're working from original Sanke cards then German copyright law would be appropriate. If you're working from published images of the cards, then refer to the law of the country where they were published.

--jeff
www.overthefront.com

Hello George,

Do you own these Sanke cards? If you do, there should be no problem publishing them, as you will be using an original image. As far as I can tell, no one owns the rights to Sanke images, as they have been reproduced thousands of times during the last century, with different sources attributed (just look at a few books on the aces and see what I mean).

If you do not have these Sankes, and you are taking them from a published work, I would contact the publisher or author and let them know you are will be using their images (there may be subtle clues to the origin of the image when published that can be readily noticed), and see what they say. I believe they would not have a problem, as they will know the history of Sanke cards themselves.

In short, once you scan an original Sanke, it can be considered an original image, and there shouldn't be any problems. But if you scan an image from a published work, you should contact the author or publisher for permission (or at least let them know you will be using it and crediting it to them). This is true because the photographer(s) who took the photos are all dead, and 85+ years have elapsed since they were taken. When you scan an image, or take a photo of it, you are creating an original image, making you the owner, in a sense, of the image.

Seeing that your book isn't about Sanke cards (and won't be in direct competition with their book), I see no reason why the author/publisher would have a problem with using a few for your game If they tried to take action against you, they would be laughed out of court IMO

regards,

Darren

Hi Jeff and Darren and thanks much for the info.

Darren,

I do own some of the original Sankes but like many others, also have many other images from the internet going back years whose origins I couldn't begin to guess. This is for a game rather than a book but I doubt the copyright issues are any different. Your comment about a making a scan of an owned original and using it makes sense from what I read of the legalese and given the time that has passed, but I'm not sure about WWI "public domain" images.

George

[Colin A Owers]

I thought that the person who owned the original NEGATIVE owned the copyright, not a print.

The law varies from country to country. It used to be 50 years, however the Disney corporation had it extended in the USA to preserve its Mickey Mouse copyright and I understand that they are trying to do it again.

Most WWI material would be out of copyright. makes you wonder about those institutions that charge you an arm for a print then another arm to publish the print.

Cheers

Colin A Owers

Hi,

Here is a good link:

http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

Hope it helps.

regards,

Darren

[Regulus]

Hi,

In Belgium copyrights are max 30 years, and can be prolonged for example for photo's. However in that case you need to have the original negatives, if not forget about it.
Also it seems that if you do not publish the complete photo, but just a part of it that it may be considered as a different photo, and you can forget about copyrights.
It is not because you have a original photo that you can get any copyrights on them.
As said by Colin, it makes one wonder about those institutions. Some play it by the book and are perhaps rather expensive to get copies from their photo's but only ask you to mention that they came from them when published.
And there are a lot of people who think they have copyrights. I remember that a photographer from Bruges had it's material he made by order of the Marinekorps Flandern copied by the man who did the prints for him. As much later as after WW II they tried to have the copyright on these photo's and even went to the court of law. Nuts said the judge...
Just my 25 cents on the matter...

Best from Johan