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<p>[QUOTE="Ed Snible, post: 3639303, member: 82322"][USER=84744]@Severus Alexander[/USER] your information is correct but if the photographs are of ancient coins I believe the legal perspective is different.</p><p><br /></p><p>The art on ancient coins (except fakes) is in the public domain! As public domain works, Americans have always been free to publish them from their own scans or photography.</p><p><br /></p><p>Museums traditionally protects their licensing revenue stream two ways. First, they ban photography or tripods in the museum. Second, they claim copyright <b>on the photograph</b> used to facilitate the reproduction. These copyrights last a long time -- the life of the photographer plus 70 years in some countries! By keeping the public from high-quality photographs the museum corners the supply.</p><p><br /></p><p>It takes a lot of creativity to paint a portrait or take an artistic original photograph. Taking an accurate photograph of a painting hanging on the wall isn't difficult. It seemed unfair for museums to get free 100+ year copyright enforcement on mere photos of paintings, so there was a lawsuit. In the famous "Bridgeman" lawsuit a judge ruled that there is no <i>new</i> copyright on photographs of paintings and "2D" artworks.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Bridgeman decision only applies to photographs of 2D art. Most coins have some depth (the exception being printed "coins" like wooden nickels). Greek coins are almost sculptural. Does Bridgeman apply to them?</p><p><br /></p><p>A good lawyer could argue either way. As a non-lawyer my gut instinct is that a judge would ask the jury to rule that photographs showing "originality" (special lighting and camera angles) earn the photographer a copyright. Non-original photographs (flatbed scans, or that mirror-box) probably don't.</p><p><br /></p><p>After Bridgeman the law books didn't change but the law did. Now anyone can "probably" get away with selling reproductions of public domain paintings. No permission is needed.</p><p><br /></p><p>Unfortunately copyright law isn't like the speed limit where you are safe at 55mph and risky at 56mph. It's all up to how a jury of your peers feels about acts of creativity vs. mechanical reproduction.</p><p><br /></p><p>There is of course also a question of ethics. Is it ethical for me to build upon a dealer's photographic effort? Ask your gut. For me, unless there is some special lighting or focus stacking I do not care about the photographer's copyright. The photographer doesn't even sign the photographs in auction catalogs and is rarely even named.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Ed Snible, post: 3639303, member: 82322"][USER=84744]@Severus Alexander[/USER] your information is correct but if the photographs are of ancient coins I believe the legal perspective is different. The art on ancient coins (except fakes) is in the public domain! As public domain works, Americans have always been free to publish them from their own scans or photography. Museums traditionally protects their licensing revenue stream two ways. First, they ban photography or tripods in the museum. Second, they claim copyright [B]on the photograph[/B] used to facilitate the reproduction. These copyrights last a long time -- the life of the photographer plus 70 years in some countries! By keeping the public from high-quality photographs the museum corners the supply. It takes a lot of creativity to paint a portrait or take an artistic original photograph. Taking an accurate photograph of a painting hanging on the wall isn't difficult. It seemed unfair for museums to get free 100+ year copyright enforcement on mere photos of paintings, so there was a lawsuit. In the famous "Bridgeman" lawsuit a judge ruled that there is no [I]new[/I] copyright on photographs of paintings and "2D" artworks. The Bridgeman decision only applies to photographs of 2D art. Most coins have some depth (the exception being printed "coins" like wooden nickels). Greek coins are almost sculptural. Does Bridgeman apply to them? A good lawyer could argue either way. As a non-lawyer my gut instinct is that a judge would ask the jury to rule that photographs showing "originality" (special lighting and camera angles) earn the photographer a copyright. Non-original photographs (flatbed scans, or that mirror-box) probably don't. After Bridgeman the law books didn't change but the law did. Now anyone can "probably" get away with selling reproductions of public domain paintings. No permission is needed. Unfortunately copyright law isn't like the speed limit where you are safe at 55mph and risky at 56mph. It's all up to how a jury of your peers feels about acts of creativity vs. mechanical reproduction. There is of course also a question of ethics. Is it ethical for me to build upon a dealer's photographic effort? Ask your gut. For me, unless there is some special lighting or focus stacking I do not care about the photographer's copyright. The photographer doesn't even sign the photographs in auction catalogs and is rarely even named.[/QUOTE]
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