I second Diane's point that this kind of statement is clarifying rather that political.
There are so many examples of copyright over-reaching, blanket copyrights or confusion about what exactly is claimed under the copyright notice that this is a decidedly welcome move, I think, in the direction of clarity. Have people seen Susan Bielstein's "Permissions - A Survival Guide," in which for the illustrations not only full copyright status of work and image are given, but details of the fee paid - how much, to whom, for what. David On Jul 13, 2006, at 10:20 AM, Diane M. Zorich wrote: > Amalyah, > > Okay, "crediting" was probably the wrong word to use. My point is > that noting "Public Domain" in the caption makes it clear to all that > the original work is in the public domain (and thus freely available > for copying), although the particular image of that public domain > work, is, of course copyrighted by the photographer. > > Too many reproductions have captions that imply that the > museum/photographer/gallery owns copyright to the work itself. Why > not note "public domain" in the caption, to clarify things? I don't > see it as a political statement at all. > > You're right in stating that there is no legal requirement to declare > something public domain. Under US law, there is also no legal > requirement to declare something as copyrighted - yet what museum or > photographer would approve a caption that did not include their > copyright notice? They justifiably want to let people know their > rights. Why not let the public also know what they have a right to? > > I see a public domain statement as a move towards greater clarity and > less subterfuge in our increasingly intellectual property-centric > world. Clarifying who owns (or does not own) rights is a responsible > thing to do. I have noticed an increasing trend among museums to use > copyright statements that now qualify where the copyright lies, for > example, "Greek amphora, 25 A.D., Image copyright 2006 The XYZ > Museum" (italics mine). I think this is also a positive effort > towards greater clarity. > > Diane > > Copyright story of the day: The New York Times article "Is a Scent > Like a Song?" > http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/fashion/thursdaystyles/ > 13skin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin > about French parfumiers seeking copyright status for the scents > they create from their super-scentsitive noses. > > > > >> But is it "crediting"? Or is it a political statement? How does >> one credit >> a legal status? After all, under copyright law, there is no need >> to declare >> something public domain. Nothing in a lack of declaration or >> "credit" >> reduces or harms a work's public domain status. It would be >> interesting to >> see the Art Bulletin's "captioning policy now stated near the >> beginning of >> each Art Bulletin >> issue." >> >> At first glance, it seems a bit over the top. On the other hand, >> maybe we >> need a bit of over-the-top these days to counterbalance over-the-top >> copyright claims, the chilling effect, and shrinking fair use >> protections. >> >> Amalyah Keshet >> Head of Image Resources & Copyright Management >> The Israel Museum, Jerusalem >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Diane M. Zorich" <dzorich at mindspring.com> >> To: <mcn-l at toronto.mediatrope.com> >> Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2006 4:47 PM >> Subject: [MCN-L] IP SIG: Fwd: Re: Art Bulletin use of "In the >> Public Domain" >> in its captions >> >> >> Crediting the public domain (see below) -- what a >> great and bold idea. Kudos to the College Art >> Association. Now will museums follow suit? >> >> Diane >> >> >> >>> Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 07:34:13 -0700 >>> Reply-To: Visual Resources Association <VRA-L at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> >>> Sender: Visual Resources Association <VRA-L at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> >>> From: Benjamin Kessler <bkessler0606 at SBCGLOBAL.NET> >>> Subject: Re: Art Bulletin use of "In the Public Domain" in its >>> captions >>> To: VRA-L at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU >>> List-Help: <http://listserv.uark.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=VRA-L>, >>> <mailto:LISTSERV at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU?body=INFO VRA-L> >>> List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:VRA-L-unsubscribe- >>> request at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> >>> List-Subscribe: <mailto:VRA-L-subscribe-request at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> >>> List-Owner: <mailto:VRA-L-request at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU> >>> List-Archive: <http://listserv.uark.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=VRA-L> >>> X-ELNK-Info: spv=0; >>> X-ELNK-AV: 0 >>> X-ELNK-Info: sbv=0; sbrc=.0; sbf=00; sbw=000; >>> >>> Eileen-- >>> >>> This is a conscious effort on the part of CAA, >>> spearheaded by Eve Sinaiko, Director of >>> Publications. Their captioning policy is now >>> stated near the beginning of each Art Bulletin >>> issue. I don't think that this has yet become >>> common practice for scholarly publications at >>> large, so CAA is attempting to set a good >>> example. >>> >>> Ben Kessler >>> >>> "Fry, P. Eileen" <fryp at INDIANA.EDU> wrote: >>> >>> st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) } >>> Colleagues, >>> >>> I may have missed discussion of this, but is it >>> now common practice for scholarly journals to >>> credit illustrations with captions that say "In >>> the Public Domain" for the work, and then >>> copyright for the photographer? Art Bulletin >>> seems to be doing this, but I'm not sure how >>> widespread it is. >>> >>> Eileen Fry >>> Indiana University >> >> >> -- >> Diane M. Zorich >> 113 Gallup Road >> Princeton, NJ 08542 USA >> Voice: 609-252-1606 >> Fax: 609-252-1607 >> Email: dzorich at mindspring.com >> _______________________________________________ >> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum >> Computer >> Network (http://www.mcn.edu) >> >> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu >> >> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: >> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l >> >> _______________________________________________ >> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum >> Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) >> >> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu >> >> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: >> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l > > > -- > Diane M. Zorich > 113 Gallup Road > Princeton, NJ 08542 USA > Voice: 609-252-1606 > Fax: 609-252-1607 > Email: dzorich at mindspring.com > _______________________________________________ > You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum > Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) > > To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu > > To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: > http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l > ____________________________ David Green Knowledge Culture davidgreen at knowledgeculture.com www.knowledgeculture.com 170 Brooklawn Terrace Fairfield, CT 06825 203.345.3228
