> > From: Bob Shell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: 2007/05/22 Tue PM 12:29:53 GMT > To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <[email protected]> > Subject: Getty claiming copyright on National Archives images > > This came up on another list and I thought people here would like to > know about this major scam. > > It seems that Getty Images learned a few years ago that they could > buy 4 X 5 negatives of images from the US National Archives for $ 5 > each. They bought thousands. Now they are selling these same images > through their stock agency and claiming copyright on them. The vast > majority of the images in the National Archives were taken by > government employees and are public domain. > > Here's just one example for anyone skeptical. Getty image: 3090980 > > On the getty website it says, "American Pilots November 1943: > American pilots leaning against the tail of a F6F Hellcat on board > the USS Lexington after a raid on the Marshall Islands. (Photo by MPI/ > Getty Images)" > > http://preview.tinyurl.com/2825kt > > Now the same image from the US National Archives. > > To locate the same image, it is a bit more complicated. First go to > the NARA ARC search engine: > > http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/basic_search.jsp > > click the large yellow oval that says, "SEARCH" and you will see a > search page. In the blank box at the top enter the ARC number 520896 > (just enter the numbers only) and click on the GO button to the right. > > National Archives ARC: 520896 It also says Local Identifier: 80- > G-470985 (this is the National Archives number for that image. The 80- > G says WWII and US Navy PHOTOGRPHER, other photographs are NOT in > this category, only ones shot by US Navy personal. The top page says > Digital copy available, that line is a link, click it. The next page > has a thumbnail and the text block starts with, "Pilots leaning > across F6F on board the USS Lexington (CV-16) after shooting down 17 > out of 20 Japanese planes heading for Tarawa." THIS block of text is > a link to the next page so Click that link.. This page is where the > truth lies. At the bottom it lists "Steichen, Edward, Photographer" > If you do not know, Edward Steichen was a Commander in the US Navy > and headed the Navy's photographic team. He was a US Government > employee and as such ALL of his images (during his service) are in > the Public Domain. This is noted earlier on this page by saying, > "Access Restrictions: Unrestricted Use Restrictions: Unrestricted" > > As public domain images, these images belong to US, the public. > Getty, or anyone else, has absolutely no right to claim copyright to > these images and sell them. > > We need to spread the word on this, and any of Getty's customers who > have paid to license such images should demand an immediate and full > refund. >
Not to defend the money grubbers but if it says "Access Restrictions: Unrestricted Use Restrictions: Unrestricted" what precisely are they doing wrong? ----------------------------------------- Email sent from www.virginmedia.com/email Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software and scanned for spam -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
