As far as I know, postcards had to follow the same rules as all published material to acquire copyright protection. That is, there had to be a copyright notice on the postcard, and the copyright had to be renewed after 28 years. If neither occurred, the postcard would rise into the public domain. You can look at http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/ to determine when items enter the public domain in the U.S.
You can learn more about copyright and the public domain in "Copyright & Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for Digitization for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums," available for sale on Amazon or as a free PDF download at http://hdl.handle.net/1813/14142. Peter B. Hirtle Senior Policy Advisor Digital Scholarship Services Cornell University Library 2B53 Kroch Library????????????????????????????? Ithaca, NY? 14853 peter.hirtle at cornell.edu t.? 607.255-4033 f.? 607/255-9524 http://vivo.cornell.edu/individual/vivo/individual23436 -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Stephanie Weaver Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 8:00 PM To: mcn-l at mcn.edu Subject: [MCN-L] Using old postcards to create new souvenirs: copyright? Hi MCN, I know many of you deal with copyright so wanted to ask for your input. One of my clients would like to create new postcards from historic postcards of their site that they have collected or purchased (but not accessioned). At what point do mass-produced images become public domain? The original postcards are from the 1920s-1940s. Copies of these postcards are most likely in collections in our local historical society. Thanks, I appreciate you sharing your expertise. Best, Stephanie Weaver Visitor experience consultant experienceology: Because happy visitors return. San Diego, CA Skype: experienceology E-news: http://www.experienceology.com/newsletter/ For information on our book, blog, podcast, upcoming classes, and e-news, visit www.experienceology.com or follow me on twitter.com/experienceology. See samples of my classes here: www.youtube.com/experienceology. Watch the free archived version of my class on the visitor experience here: http://bit.ly/NlunE Upcoming presentations: Interpretation Canada online conference: November 30, 2010 Hawai'i Museums Association: January 2011 (TBD) Past presentations: Palo Alto Art Center: October 2010 Western Museums Association: October 2010 Heard Museum & Phoenix Zoo: October 2010 Downey City Library: August 2010 American Association of Museums: May 2010 Tijuana Estuary docent training: April 2010 UCLA Extension: January 2010
