Archive pictures

[Dolorous Dave]

Hello all,

 

I am looking to add some historial pictures and would like to check the right process for this. I have a couple of newspaper cuttings relating to the Boer War and some historical slides on glass plates including First World War images. Is there any legal issues about uploading them? I own the artifacts being photographed but not the rights for the origional pictures/photos. They are over 100 years old. Also, is it ok to upload pictures of illustrations in books (from the 1870's so again well over 100 years old) as I have some nice ones of Peninsular War battle maps.

 

Aditionally - should these be marked as not exculsive to Alamy? I'm not going to upload them anywhere else but other people with the same books could.

 

Thanks in adance.

Edited August 22, 2020 by Dolorous Dave

[spacecadet]

They would be out of copyright and, as you say, non-exclusive. With out-of-copyright images it's irrelevant that you're only sending them to Alamy- you simply can't offer exclusivity anywhere.

Edited August 22, 2020 by spacecadet

[Dolorous Dave]

41 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

They would be out of copyright and, as you say, non-exclusive. With out-of-copyright images it's irrelevant that you're only sending them to Alamy- you simply can't offer exclusivity anywhere.

Thank you, thats helpful. What about later pictures and illustrations - say from the 1940's? I think the copyright lasts for 50 years from the death of the photographer/creater - is this true? Most of the things I'm considering would be very difficult for me to find out the creater let along when they died!

[spacecadet]

It's 70 years but the idea's the same.

For the 40s, a photographer could easily have been born in 1920 and lived until the end of the century.  I wouldn't personally use such material.

Edited August 22, 2020 by spacecadet

[Dolorous Dave]

1 hour ago, spacecadet said:

It's 70 years but the idea's the same.

For the 40s, a photographer could easily have been born in 1920 and lived until the end of the century.  I wouldn't personally use such material.

 

That seems a good call, thanks.

 

I have tried to apply for archieval uploads but it asks for "Website or portfolio" - I dont have them uploaded anywhere and Im not sure what they are expecting. Any ideas?

[spacecadet]

I think I used photobucket but I'm not sure if that works now.

Any hosting site will do- I use postimages usually.

[geogphotos]

The Orphan Works system is not working properly ( in terms of getting images published) so it leaves a mess with regards to images of historical importance and unknown copyright. 

 

I can't remember his name but on another forum there was a collector of US military images which he licensed for stock - he found them at yard sales - never had any trouble.

 

Some of our most famous stock libraries have 'photographer unknown' for some of their images even from 1960s.

 

I go to lengths to try and track down the families when I buy slides at auction and find some clues. And not surprisingly they struggle to understand. As far as they are concerned once they got rid of the slides that was that. They didn't want them or had forgotten all about them, paid a house clearance company to remove them, so why shouldn't it be that whoever buys the slides can do what they want with them? Why is this person asking them to write a letter giving permission to use them?

 

I suppose the answer to your question comes down to your attitude to risk and the balance between the letter of the law and your concern that important images are available to society ( I don't mention money because I don't count this as a fortune maker).

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by geogphotos

[spacecadet]

On 22/08/2020 at 17:49, geogphotos said:

I can't remember his name but on another forum there was a collector of US military images which he licensed for stock - he found them at yard sales - never had any trouble.

I don't think that the US asserts copyright on any government imagery. NASA certainly doesn't.

Even Crown Copyright material can be used under OGL3 licence.