« An Excellent Resource on Reporting on victims of Trauma and Violence | Main | "Memory Pictures" »
April 6, 2005
Book Review: A Museum Guide to Copyright and Trademark
My Executive Director at my museum job asked me to review a 1999 book on copyright law that is geared toward the museum professionals' audience. Given that I am in charge of a project to digitize over 5,000 historic images from a critical civil rights campaign in this country and abroad, I decided that I had better get as current on this issue as possible (not that I wasn't already fairly knowledgable about copyright laws from my days in the publishing world, but museum copyright is different for a host of reasons, mainly because the work is not created by the museum, but merely acquired for collection and exhibition.)
The book is _A Museum Guide to Copyright and Trademark_ and it is published by the American Association of Museums. The authors are Michael S. Shapiro, and Brett I. Miller of the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Brockius. Christine Steiner edited and introduced the volume. This book is on the desks of every curator of every major museum in Washington (if not the country) and its authors are the leading authorities on the subject.
The book boasts a mere five chapters, however they are carefully broken down in to several subchapters that fill out the manuscript with minute detail about each topic that is addressed. Topics range from a general overview and history of copyright laws dating back to 1790 (and their subsequent revisions) to copyright laws and rights on the internet. It is well outlined in the Contents page and the book is comprehensively indexed.
The application of this book for photographers is great. Especially if the photographer ever intends to allow works to be entered into private collections or public museums. I have work entered into the permanent collection of several museums (as well as the private collections of many civil rights leaders and high-ranking elected officials) and the copyright forms that are given to the artist can be somewhat complex and confusing if the artist is not familiar with current copyright laws as well as the potential use of the work by the institution (i.e. marketing, exhibition, online distribution, reprinting in books or other publications, fair usage rights of patrons to distribute the work for educational purposes, etc). The other application for this book is, of course, the photographer who is employed by a museum or undertakes contract work for a particular institution as either a photographer and/or a photography department chair (which are the roles that I fulfill at the institution where I work on Capitol Hill). I should also note that photographing artwork created by other artists is covered as well.
The volume goes far beyond copyright of images and addresses essentially every conceiveable item that a museum could collect. For example, marriage licenses of historically significant people are covered, as is personal correspondence, deeds and wills, etc. Fair usage and public domain are comprehensively addressed, as is copyright expiration and extension.
Trademark laws are also covered as comprehensively as copyright. Photographers who market themselves and select a company name need to pay close attention to these particular laws. Creating a logo or selecting a company name that is similar to another's could be viewed as a trademark infringement and be subject to monetary penalties. The photographer would also have to remake their advertising materials, which could also be a costly endeavor.
While the text is rather academic, it is written for the museum professional, not other lawyers, so it is easily digestible.... Photographers who are interested in learning more about copyright and trademark laws should find it similarly readable. And ending note: Copyright law is regularly expanded in the judicial/civil and legislative realms and keeping current on recent court decisions and congressional action is as important as understanding the fundemental laws that are addressed in this book.
Posted by Lana at April 6, 2005 11:04 AM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)