Those were the days!

[Mawg]

I can't say for sure...but I would be willing to bet that doing that would infringe on some copyright issues....not to mention ethical ones.

I understand and I agree with you however, I believe copyright laws are subject to Statutes of Limitation. Also, in this particular case, are we talking about American or Mexican copyright laws. It is a Mexicana Airlines poster. Certainly not my area of expertise. Maybe someone who frequents this site would know.

 

[ggunn]

I can't say for sure...but I would be willing to bet that doing that would infringe on some copyright issues....not to mention ethical ones.

I think that your instincts are spot on. Selling copies of a copyrighted work, no matter how old it is, is at the very least ethically questionable, IMO.

 

[waynel]

I have advertising agency experience and have published locally. The first "rule" is that whenever you are in doubt about copyright laws don't copy. Let me rephrase that. You do have the right to copy and give copies away free of charge. You only violate copyright laws if you profit from the copy in any way, be it money exchanged or services rendered in lieu of monetary payment. You also can not use an image in any advertisement that may bring you monetary gain. The law also prohibits giving copies to customers who had conducted business with you.

Now having said all that...Just research and find out who owns the rights to that image. If it's a company, you can often strike a deal for a percentage. If it's an individual and if the person is deceased and there is no estate...then that image has passed into the "public domain" and you can do what you want with it.

By the way, it is really an outstanding poster!

 

[ggunn]

I have advertising agency experience and have published locally. The first "rule" is that whenever you are in doubt about copyright laws don't copy. Let me rephrase that. You do have the right to copy and give copies away free of charge. You only violate copyright laws if you profit from the copy in any way, be it money exchanged or services rendered in lieu of monetary payment.

I'm not sure how audio differs from this, but the RIAA has made it abundantly clear that copying and giving away copyrighted music for no charge or monetary gain is definitely not all right with them. Is it OK in this case because it's advertising?

 

[Christi]

I have advertising agency experience and have published locally. The first "rule" is that whenever you are in doubt about copyright laws don't copy. Let me rephrase that. You do have the right to copy and give copies away free of charge. You only violate copyright laws if you profit from the copy in any way, be it money exchanged or services rendered in lieu of monetary payment. You also can not use an image in any advertisement that may bring you monetary gain. The law also prohibits giving copies to customers who had conducted business with you.

Now having said all that...Just research and find out who owns the rights to that image. If it's a company, you can often strike a deal for a percentage. If it's an individual and if the person is deceased and there is no estate...then that image has passed into the "public domain" and you can do what you want with it.

By the way, it is really an outstanding poster!

Thanks Wayne for sharing this info. I had/have no intentions of making copies and selling them, so it was really never an issue for me.

Anyone that wants to see it is welcome to stop by my shop...even if not diving with me. I'll have it in Cozumel around March 13th and hopefully will have it framed and hung by the end of the month!

 

[waynel]

Gordon, you're absolutely rigth about RIAA. I suspected the musician in you would surface. Before advertising I worked in radio. You couldn't use published audio on a commercial or PSA without paying. However, by its very nature a broacast radio or TV staion is a commercial enterprise so anything you put on the air is to make money. Also, true RIAA is against copying and giving away. But that's a "different animal". Here's a good example: notice on MSNBC or other search engines offering news articles. There is an option to print the article or even e-mail it to a friend (in essence copying and giving away). My point is that images, audio and even print copyrights are all so different today as compared to just 20 years ago. Technology, copyright challenges, FCC deregulation, etc. have really fragmented the field of copyrights. That's why my first rule is: When in doubt don't do it.