Will also asked about "mass-produced objects (furniture, utensils, clocks, etc.) created for retail sales [are they] considered published? What if these items were designed by someone not working for hire, whose death date is 1935 or later?" Useful objects are not generally protected by copyright (unless they have a purely decorative element, which is protected as a separate artistic element). So the publication issue is usually not relevant for them. (n.b. sketches and preparatory drawings of the useful objects are protected as art works.) I have asked intellectual property lawyers both the publication and design-object questions more than once. The answers were not particularly helpful. The law just isn't black and white on this. It deals poorly with the visual arts in general, and with design in particular. Amalyah Keshet Head of Image Resources & Copyright Management The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
________________________________ From: Diane M. Zorich [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tue 5/10/2005 10:06 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: IP Question regarding meaning of "Publication" in the Museum context Will, According to "A Museum Guide to Copyright and Trademark" (AAM: 1999), for copyright purposes, a publication means (and here the Guide is quoting the coypyright act) "the distribution of copies... of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or lending. The offering to distribute copies... to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display constitutes publication. A public performance or public display of a work does not of itself constitute publication". If you take your questions, one by one, and look at them in the context of the above definition, some will be answered, but not all. The Guide mentioned above gives examples of when a public display may or may not constitute "publication", so you might want to look at it further for some of the gray areas. BTW - RARIN is a Web site: I think the list you are referring to is Musip (Museum IP). It is an open list -- anyone can post to it at [email protected]. I wish I could give you straight "yes"/"no" answers, but one thing I am learning about copyright is that a straight answer is about as rare as a public domain work these days ; -) Diane >No doubt this has been hashed out before but I've not found anything >explicit on this subject. I am wondering if any consensus has been >reached in the museum field. > >The copyright law says that works published before 1923 are in the >public domain. For the purposes of museum objects, what constitutes >publication? Does public exhibition of a unique work satisfy the >publication requirement? What about publication of an image of a >unique work in a catalogue or brochure or periodical prior to 1923? >Do print editions constitute publication? Are mass-produced objects >(furniture, utensils, clocks, etc.) created for retail sales >considered published? What if these items were designed by someone >not working for hire, whose death date is 1935 or later? There are >undoubtedly many other related questions, but perhaps that is enough >for now. > >If any of you are subscribed to the RARIN list (there is one, >right?) would you consider posting my query there with a request to >send responses directly to me? I would be happy to post a synopsis >to MCN-L later. > >Will Real >Carnegie Museum of Art -- Diane M. Zorich 113 Gallup Road Princeton, NJ 08542 USA Voice: 609-252-1606 Fax: 609-252-1607 Email: [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to mcn_mcn-l as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [email protected]
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