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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dcarr, post: 1002926, member: 4781&quot;]You almost got it.&nbsp;&nbsp; The reason for the signed release forms is so that the Mint has some recourse in case some third party goes after them for copyright violation because the artist submitting the design used copyrighted elements in it.&nbsp;&nbsp; That scenario did occur with the &quot;Ocean in View&quot; nickel submitted by of the AIP program artists.&nbsp;&nbsp; After the coin was minted, it was discovered that the artist had based their original design on a copyrighted photograph.&nbsp;&nbsp; That photographer later received a cash settlement from the US Mint.&nbsp;&nbsp; So the signed release form is more of a formality - it doesn&#039;t always provide recourse.&nbsp;&nbsp; The signed release does prevent the artist form transferring the copyright to anyone else.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>No, that is not correct.&nbsp;&nbsp; Designs created by government employees, once released to the public, are public domain (because those employees are paid by taxpayers).</p><p><br /></p><p>In some cases, however, the Mint will arrange for a private artist to retain copyrights on a coin design, because the Mint can not hold those copyrights.&nbsp;&nbsp; This was the case with Glenna Goodacre and the Sacagawea dollar obverse.&nbsp;&nbsp; The Mint arranged for her to retain the copyright, while granting the US Mint full rights to use it.&nbsp;&nbsp; Goodacre continued to publicly sell terra-cotta reliefs of the original design, and other related Sacagawea dollar collectibles, after the coins had started minting.&nbsp;&nbsp; She could do this because she had the copyright.&nbsp;&nbsp; On the other hand, when another private outfit (the &quot;Washington Mint&quot;) produced and sold over-size Sacagawea copy rounds (gold-plated silver), they were sued by the Mint on behalf of Glenna Goodacre.&nbsp;&nbsp; The Washington Mint was forced to stop producing and selling that &quot;round&quot;. I believe that this is the only case where the US Mint has ever sued anyone for a copyright violation over an actual coin design.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, the only instances when USA coin designs are copyrighted is when the Mint arranges for the artist to retain that copyright for the Mint.&nbsp;&nbsp; Take a look here: </p><p><a href="http://www.usmint.gov/consumer/?action=busGuide&amp;sub=busReplicas" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.usmint.gov/consumer/?action=busGuide&amp;sub=busReplicas" rel="nofollow">http://www.usmint.gov/consumer/?action=busGuide&amp;sub=busReplicas</a></p><p><br /></p><p>This section in particular:</p><p>&quot;The United States Mint owns copyright in several commemorative and circulating coin designs.&nbsp; Although the copyright symbol does not appear on the coin itself, the United States Mint generally includes the symbol on marketing materials.&nbsp; Copyrighted coin designs include several designs used in the 1995-1996 Olympic Commemorative Coin Program, the 1995 Civil War Battlefield Commemorative Coin Program and the Golden Dollar (Sacagawea) coin obverse.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Note that specific mention is made of the Sacagawea Dollar <i>OBVERSE</i>, and not the reverse.&nbsp;&nbsp; That is because the Mint arranged for Goodacre to hold the copyright for them.&nbsp;&nbsp; The reverse of the Sacagawea dollar was designed by Thomas D Rodgers, a US Mint employee (at the time), and so there is no copyright on that side of the coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>All of the other coin designs listed as copyrighted were created by outside artists, not Mint staff.&nbsp;&nbsp; Earlier coin designs, as well as other modern coin designs, are often not copyrighted because the Mint didn&#039;t structure their arrangement with the artist that way.&nbsp;&nbsp; For example, they didn&#039;t make those arrangements with me and so there is no Mint copyright on the New York and Rhode Island state quarter designs, even though an outside artist (me) designed them.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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