Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California
Use of Copyrighted Material
When is copyrighted material considered to be within the ''public domain''? My mother is a docent at a small town musuem. She digitizes old photo's (some up to 100 yrs old) and has put together several ''shows'' on DVD set to legally obtained (downloaded from internet or personally owned on cds) for fundraisers at the musuem. she has been approached several times by patrons requesting ''personal'' photo shows be created. This is a very time-consuming effort, and she would be appropriately compensated for her effort. What are her responsibilities to: 1) obtain the ''permission'' of photo studios for permission to ''copy/use'' their material. many of these photo's are 75-100 years old and no longer in business. 2) obtain permission to use music/songs requested by customer in putting together a ''show'' on a DVD?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Use of Copyrighted Material
Re the music: There are no sound recordings in the public domain in the US. Use at a fundraisor violates any copyright - your mother needs to obtain premission to use the recording. Ditto a private show for profit. In either case she may be required to pay a royalty as well.
Re the photos: The easy answer is that anything created before 1923 is not protected by copyright law in the US. (Although it may be protected by the copyright laws of another country.) For works created after 1923, different rules apply depending on when the work was created.
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