Hello all,

I have not followed every posting on this issue, but I did want to share one
incident that opened my eyes.

During my tenure on the Durham Project at the NYS Museum I had used the Grider
drawings extensively for data. These were done in the 1890s and captured
historic sites in watercolors and drawings. We (the State) owned the drawings.
From one of these I did my own ink rendering of some pictographs he recorded,
and I used that in some of the Museum's publications. Since the State owned the
originals and I worked for the State, all was cool.

Then a woman from Amsterdam, who wanted to use the images in a sculpture for
the City, contacted me and informed me she had "discovered" these Grider images
and had copyrighted them, and that I may not any longer be permitted to use
them, as I had for years.

In the end it all came to nothing, but I was awestruck that someone could take
an image owned by another and copyright it for their own exclusive use, even in
an "artistsic" re-application.

Phil Lord
Department of History, Philosophy & Social Sciences
Hudson Valley Community College
>
> >I have never seen Newspaper microfilm copywrited before by and historical
> >society or library.  I would think the only one who could copywrite the
> >newspaper
> >was the publisher.
>
>
> This is actually fairly common, and protects the effort and hard work of
> the microfilmer.  Its not the paper itself that is copyright, it is the
> medium in which it is presented.  The copyright on the microfilm cannot
> stop you from printing out copies, or so I understand, but it can prevent
> you from making a new reel of film without permission, which is only fair.
>
> This is also different from restrictions that may be imposed upon it by the
> publisher, microfilmer or even a library that holds the originals or
> films.  A number of years ago I found a hard-to-find source in the
> wonderful archives at Cornell Univeristy, but the restrictions upon it made
> it virtually impossible for me to use it in the way I needed.  Fortunately
> I found a copy on e-bay for $20.00.  That solved everything and when I get

> it posted on my web pages I will hold the copyright to my electronic
> version.  Learning a trick from various businesses, I include little traps
> that do not compromise the material but can be used in court to prove that
> it is my work should some unscrupulous scoundrel abscond with all my work
> and claim it as their own.
>
> Just ask permission.  I have been ignored in most of my requests, laughed
> at for some, but never turned down.
>

Dan W.