I was hoping one of you many genius folks might know something about copyright when it comes to using old postcards.
My mom's photo lab is ramping up for Christmas season and and photocards, and she came up with a unique idea. Not being at all excited about the "standard" greetings/art that come with her software to make these cards, she decided to make her own, using old, antique Christmas, new years and other cards she found at antique stores. They are very cool looking!
She's scanned them and played with them a little in photoshop. Before she offers them to her customers, she'd like to make sure she's not breaking any copyright laws.
Most of the cards she's used are from the 20-50's, she's tried to contact any company names that have been printed, none of them seem to be in business anymore, and there are a few images with no info on them at all.
So, before these images go onto hundereds of cards - soes anyone know if this will be an issue?
This may help. The way I read it they are still under copyright "total term of protection of 95 years"
info was taken from
formatting link
HOW LONG COPYRIGHT PROTECTION ENDURES Works Originally Created on or after January 1, 1978 A work that is created (fixed in tangible form for the first time) on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically protected from the moment of its creation and is ordinarily given a term enduring for the author's life plus an additional 70 years after the author's death. In the case of "a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire," the term lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author's death. For works made for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author's identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright will be 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.
Works Originally Created before January 1, 1978, But Not Published or Registered by That Date These works have been automatically brought under the statute and are now given federal copyright protection. The duration of copyright in these works will generally be computed in the same way as for works created on or after January 1, 1978: the life-plus-70 or 95/120-year terms will apply to them as well. The law provides that in no case will the term of copyright for works in this category expire before December 31, 2002, and for works published on or before December 31, 2002, the term of copyright will not expire before December 31, 2047.
Works Originally Created and Published or Registered before January 1, 1978 Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured either on the date a work was published with a copyright notice or on the date of registration if the work was registered in unpublished form. In either case, the copyright endured for a first term of 28 years from the date it was secured. During the last (28th) year of the first term, the copyright was eligible for renewal. The Copyright Act of 1976 extended the renewal term from 28 to 47 years for copyrights that were subsisting on January 1, 1978, or for pre-1978 copyrights restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), making these works eligible for a total term of protection of 75 years. Public Law 105-298, enacted on October 27, 1998, further extended the renewal term of copyrights still subsisting on that date by an additional 20 years, providing for a renewal term of 67 years and a total term of protection of 95 years.
Public Law 102-307, enacted on June 26, 1992, amended the 1976 Copyright Act to provide for automatic renewal of the term of copyrights secured between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977. Although the renewal term is automatically provided, the Copyright Office does not issue a renewal certificate for these works unless a renewal application and fee are received and registered in the Copyright Office.
Public Law 102-307 makes renewal registration optional. Thus, filing for renewal registration is no longer required in order to extend the original
28-year copyright term to the full 95 years. However, some benefits accrue from making a renewal registration during the 28th year of the original term.
For more detailed information on renewal of copyright and the copyright term, request Circular 15, "Renewal of Copyright"; Circular 15a, "Duration of Copyright"; and Circular 15t, "Extension of Copyright Terms."
I've got a dozen (literally) "Victorian Calendars" which are collage works created by collecting images (from postcards and other works) and creating a new work of art with the assimulation of the images created by others. These calendars I have span more than a decade so there were no problems for Cynthia Hart and John Grossman (the artists who put their antique images to use). Creating collages have been done for centuries and have always come from taking past images by others to create a new art. And I believe you have seen other examples of this throughout the art world. The calendars were made for profit, many artists using these techniques also are "for profit" so I'd suggest further research. Mary has altered the original art to suit her own needs and that of itself makes it new. That's my OPINION and should only be taken as such. I hope to see what she's done. Perhaps make a purchase myself.
Another great example is the I Spy books Dane and children worldwide love so much. Walter Wick, that photographer, has images of postcards and other written, artistic materials (based upon the them of his photograph) displayed, without problem. And there is NO reference, thanks, or acknowledgements to previous copyrights. Each image, each sentence as they stood alone were copyrighted but when mixed with other media they became an element of the new work, which then becomes copyrighted. Here's a link to an I SPY image and here is a link to a CALENDAR image
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