Copyright and Fair Use
The photographs were owned originally by either the S. D. Warren Paper Mill Company or the Warren Family. When they brought over to the library, no written document was drawn up stating donor or ownership. After some investigative work, it was determined that the photos were brought over by Howard Stevens, a mill employee and husband of Ruth Stevens, assistant librarian from 1959 to 1982. The photographs were brought over sometime between 1959 and 1963. However, although these were gifts, there was not clear policy or statement as to copyright. Photographs that were taken before 1923 were public domain, but since the company was still in existence, we wanted to make sure there would be no conflict before uploading those images on the web.
You must ask yourself these questions:
“Does the library have the right to use this on their website?”
“When was the photograph it created?”
“Who owns the photograph?”
“Were any of the photographs published, and if so, when?
(See Appendix B for Copyright laws)
I contacted Ms. Brianna K. O’Regan, Manager of Intellectual Property at the S.D. Warren Paper Mill and invited her to see the collection and discuss the library’s project of making them available online and my concerns about copyright. After our meeting, Ms. O’Regan did some research and stated her findings via formal letter that the photographs were most likely originally owned by the mill or the Warren Family. However, they were given to the Warren memorial Library and any copyright in the photographs has long since expired. Therefore, the S. D. Warren Paper Mill felt that we had a right to ownership and could use the photographs as we saw fit.
Once the issue of copyright was resolved, our next step was to establish policies concerning access and copyright information. A disclaimer was used for the website stating that access to these images is provided for the personal use of staff and patrons (students, local historians, scholars, etc.). However, any publication or commercial use without written consent of the Warren Memorial Library was strictly prohibited. Because the image print quality is low, output quality is less than perfect. Publishers would have to contact the library and pay a fee to receive a high quality output image. We felt we could offer this type of service. We then developed a fair use and copy policy that would benefit both the library and the patron.
All photographic prints that are made available to patrons through our copying services will be stamped with the library’s logo, the name of the collection, the image or file number and the photographers name, if known.
You must ask yourself these questions:
“Does the library have the right to use this on their website?”
“When was the photograph it created?”
“Who owns the photograph?”
“Were any of the photographs published, and if so, when?
(See Appendix B for Copyright laws)
I contacted Ms. Brianna K. O’Regan, Manager of Intellectual Property at the S.D. Warren Paper Mill and invited her to see the collection and discuss the library’s project of making them available online and my concerns about copyright. After our meeting, Ms. O’Regan did some research and stated her findings via formal letter that the photographs were most likely originally owned by the mill or the Warren Family. However, they were given to the Warren memorial Library and any copyright in the photographs has long since expired. Therefore, the S. D. Warren Paper Mill felt that we had a right to ownership and could use the photographs as we saw fit.
Once the issue of copyright was resolved, our next step was to establish policies concerning access and copyright information. A disclaimer was used for the website stating that access to these images is provided for the personal use of staff and patrons (students, local historians, scholars, etc.). However, any publication or commercial use without written consent of the Warren Memorial Library was strictly prohibited. Because the image print quality is low, output quality is less than perfect. Publishers would have to contact the library and pay a fee to receive a high quality output image. We felt we could offer this type of service. We then developed a fair use and copy policy that would benefit both the library and the patron.
All photographic prints that are made available to patrons through our copying services will be stamped with the library’s logo, the name of the collection, the image or file number and the photographers name, if known.