Copyrights in the Historical Arena

Abiding by copyright laws is as important as ever, especially in the age of the internet where I copyright violation is as easy as two clicks.  Much of what is posted on facebook and pinterest is actually a violation of copyright. (Read more on Pinterest and Facebook here at Why I Tearfully Deleted my Pinterest Inspiration Boards. While it is unlikely that posting on social media sites, the laws regarding copyrights are lagging behind the technology. Search engines using thumbnails has been ruled legal, but not sites.)

 I have noticed that the subject of copyrights is confusing to many, especially those in the history field.  Is it illegal to post scans out of a book, recreate a dress you saw in a museum quote from a diary or letter or post a photograph online? These questions are common and sometimes it’s hard to separate fact from fiction.

Copyrights exist to protect the current and future revenue of the copyright holder.  Once something is out of copyright, it typically enters the public domain, which means that anyone can use it. 

The magic date in US copyrights is 1923, originally copyrights were only supposed to last for a certain amount of years after the death of the holder; however in the late 90s, copyrights were put on hold and now, nothing new since 1923 will enter the public domain until 2018. 

Books: Published books have some of the simplest copyright laws. If the book was published before 1923, and you own a copy of it, you can reproduce and distribute copies or use it for derivative works. If a private collection gives you access and does not limit reproduction rights, you can use it. 

Diaries and Letters: The person who wrote them, owns the copyright. If the person is dead, their heirs own the copyright. Things written after January 1, 1978, automatically grant copyright to the author (and later heirs) for the duration of the author’s life + 70 years. Anything written before that is now subject to the same law, although that pretty much means it is in the public domain and you have permission to use it as long as you own the physical copy or have permission from those that do. 

If you find a letter, digitized by a private owner, you’ll need their permission to put it up on your own site, unless what you use falls under “fair use,” and you give the proper credit to the original source. Remember, fair use is dictated by percentage used. If you copy a poem in its entirety and post it on your website, you just copied 100% of the content. If you use one letter from a collection of letters, the percentage is much smaller. Fair use applies directly to scholars, which is why historians can quote in their own published works as long as they properly cite the passages.  

Artifacts in a Museum:

It is illegal to make a reproduction of an artifact found in a museum unless you have permission from the artifact owner. Museums make their money by having people come to see their unique items. Making a reproduction may affect their ability to make money. Always ask permission first and read each museum's policy. Some museums do not give you permission to publish photographs of items in their exhibits, even if they allow photos to be taken. The rules are different if the museum is a public museum and not private so do your research. 

If you own an artifact, it is yours to copy and distribute as you like, provided its copyright has ended. Clothing is typically exempt from holding a copyright because art is secondary to function unless the clothing contains a copyrightable logo or fabric pattern or isn't a functional garment. 

        

Photos:

There are four rights that belong to the original photographer:

- The right to make copies of the photo.
- The right to make a derivative work of the photo. This includes altering a photo and using it in some way or creating a scan of an image.
- The right to distribute or share copies of the photo, which includes posting it online.
- The right to publicly display the work.

The photographer can sell the rights to one or all of the following rights to another person. This can make it complicated to track down the owners of certain photos.

- If you own an image published before 1923, you don’t need to get permission from anyone to use it. After 1923, you need to contact the rights holders for permission. Chances are, if it is a family photo, your family will give you permission.

- If you get access to an image created or published before 1923 in a private collection (museum) then it is up to the owners of the private collection themselves to dictate whether or not you have the right to allow patrons to use their property.

If you own a CDV and scan it and post it online, it is perfectly legal. If you copy a CDV that you find online, it is private property, unless the private owner notes if it is legal to use. If you need to show an image to a friend on a social media site, send a link and not a copy of the image. Remember there are other laws which dictate the legal use of modern photos. Some photos taken at certain reenactments are not legal to post online.

For more information on photo rights click here: COPYRIGHTS AND OTHER RIGHTS IN PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES.  

This post was just some general guidelines for historians. It is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Be sure you check the individual laws pertaining to individual items before you use them. Remember, just because it’s old, doesn’t make it okay to use. Just because you don’t plan on making any money from the use, doesn’t make it okay to use. Adding a disclaimer, also does not make it okay to use. Make sure what you are using is legal and that you give proper credit each time. Remember, someday someone might want to use your work.

Further Reading:

-US Copyright Office
-American Dutchess: Historical Costuming
-Elizabeth Stewart Clark: Ethical Dressmaking 
-Between the Seams, A Fertile Commons:An Overview of the Relationship Between Fashion and Intellectual Property

Stealing History

There is a new, awful news story in my sidebar. I'm afraid that I am going to have to make "Stealing History" a regular installment on here. First there was E. Forbes Smiley, the thefts from the Wisconsin Historical Society then Lowry, now we have this man pictured at left.

On December 15, this man stole $7,000 worth of Civil War relics from The Battles for Chattanooga Museum at Point Park, Tennessee. This man opened a glass display case and stole a small display frame containing original belt buckles.  

Not much is known about the thief, although the theft was caught on camera. There is a $1,000 reward. You can view a video of the theft here. 

Many museum thefts can be solved because the artifacts taken are generally one of a kind and memorable to people who frequented the museum. The belt buckles stolen here will look little different from other Civil War belt buckles, as they were mass produced. The video is surprisingly clear, hopefully someone will be able to identify the thief before the buckles disappear.

Unfortunately, this will keep happening again and again as museums are underfunded and understaffed. Few museums can afford extra security or to track down missing objects. History pieces are poorly protected and fetch high prices as almost every history lover is also a personal collector.     

Stealing History, Again!

Landau's Mugshot

I do many more posts on things like this than I would really like to. It's horrible, but yet another researcher has been stealing historical documents from a museum. Saturday, Baltimore Police arrested Barry Landau and accomplice, Jason Savedoff, for the theft of over 60 documents from the Maryland Historical Society. The documents included Lincoln memorabilia, notably a document signed by Lincoln. The current total for the known stolen material is over $900,000.

Landau, is a presidential historian who boasted of his Manhattan home artifact collection that topped a million pieces.  

The day of the heist, Landau brought cupcakes for the museum staff, who claimed that Landau and Savedoff had visited the museum previously and had odd behavior. Now the FBI has to discover the extent of the thefts and hopefully recover all stolen material. Landau, like Thomas P. Lowry who was charged for altering a Lincoln-signed document back in January, has a book in the works due for release in a few months.

It is frustrating for historians to not have access to documents because of stuff like this. It is even more frustrating to not be able to find a document because it has been stolen. Unfortunately, original sources have to be referable. It is amazing how easily mistakes can happen in a historical work which are then amplified in future historical works that never checked the original documents. Hopefully, the digitization of documents will help alleviate problems with theft.     

Watch a video from the Huffington Post.

Stealing History: How to Preserve Old Documents

This post is a little late but I wanted to mention it. The Wisconsin Historical Society is trying to retrieve artifacts that were stolen by an ex-curator. They had a segment on Antiques Roadshow in an attempt to retrieve some of the 300 stolen Native American artifacts. They have only recovered about 33 of the stolen artifacts. There has been an increase of thefts of museum artifacts in recent years. I believe a lot of it has to do with the ease of auctioning off artifacts on Ebay. You can watch the 2 minute segment here.

History should be on display for everyone. There's nothing worse for researchers than when you are fact-checking and the article in question comes up "lost." It brings up a lot of questions and makes the source a lot less credible. Did the source ever really exist? Was the interpretation of the article correct? In the digital age, you would think that it would be easy to digitize museum collections, but most museums have tons and tons of artifacts. The Library of Congress receives 22,000 items every working day, but only keeps 10,000; which is still an awesome amount. The National Archives have over 7 million maps alone. A list of stolen documents from the National Archives can be found here. That list only includes well known items. Imagine all of the items that were not so popular?

Most artifacts recovered are found by researchers who have studied the artifacts in question. A really great story about two brothers who recovered stolen Civil War documents off of Ebay can be read here. It is great owning a piece of history, but it would be even better if they were preserved and available to everyone. I always urge everyone who has historical objects or documents to make them available online. This helps everyone get a more complete understanding of history as well as preserves your items for future generations. Most people do not have the money or knowledge to preserve artifacts and many items are damaged or ruined by accidents around the house. Wouldn't you know that a shelf just collapsed off of my bookshelf as I wrote this post?( There was nothing antique on it. :D)       

How to Preserve Old Documents

To Reproduce Your Document:

Wash your Hands: The oil on your hands will do a lot of damage to your documents. So make sure you clean them every time you touch your document. 

Never Display an Original Document: I know I said to let everyone admire your documents but light discolors documents, ultimately ruining them. Framing documents can  rub off ink or pencil by static electricity in the glass of the frame. Always make a copy and display the copy. Most people will not be able to tell that it is a copy anyway.(Fun Fact: Many museums display replicas to protect the originals. Some museums even have multiples of a particular object which they rotate so no one multiple fades too much from the light.)

Decide on the best way to make a copy: Photocopies are good and you have the added advantage of being able to resize the document or use contrast options to make the document more legible. Some documents are too fragile to photocopy, it is easiest to photograph these. Most digital cameras these days create very high quality images. You will most likely be able to read the document clearly. 

Reproductions are good because you can display them or give family and friends a copy. It will also prevent everyday damage (such as the bookshelf incident.) Always make reproduction.

To Preserve Your Document:

Wash Your Hands: Make sure you wash your hands and that they are completely dry before touching your document.

Clean the Document Up: Carefully dust off dirt and dust. If there are staples or paperclips, remove them.  Try not to dust off your document by blowing, you could get saliva on it. Try using a clean cotton cloth, use it very gently. Unfold the document if it is folded, even if it was given to your folded, such as a letter. The fold weakens the paper and your document will rip along the fold line. The dog-eared pages in books are the first part to fall off.

Sandwich your document: Use two pieces of acid-free paper. The paper can be bought at office supply stores and normally is not much more than $4.00 for a pack of 500 sheets. Lay one sheet on your work surface. Then place the document flat on it. Make sure no part is folded. Place another piece of paper on top.

Place in a Folder and Envelope: It seems like overkill but the folder will keep the document flat and the envelope (those plain yellow mailing ones will do,) helps keep bugs out. If your folder is too flimsy, also put the "document sandwich" on a piece of cardboard before putting it into the folder. It helps to tape off the open end of the envelope.

Find a place to store it: Wherever you decide to store it, make sure the envelope lays flat. The best places are cool, dry and dark. Finding a box your document can lay in will offer more protection. Good places to store your document are, drawers (preferably locked,) closet shelves, and the tops of bookshelves, assuming you put them in a box and keep dust off of them.

The documents I was using in the photos above are clippings from 1880. They look so good for being 130 years old! They are very beautiful etchings with calenders on the back. I found them inside of one of my antique books being used as bookmarks.

 

The book at the top is a Bible from my shelf. I think it is in Czech or Slovene but I really can't be sure. It is neat because there is a list of names handwritten in the back. Books take more effort to preserve. Perhaps I'll make a post on that later.