Posted by Darrel on May 10, 1997 at 00:28:55:
In Reply to: Re: Art of ukiyo-e: public domain? posted by Gary G. on May 09, 1997 at 10:27:09:
The internet has and will continue to raise interesting questions concerning copyright protection. However, I must agree with William Pearl that both text and images displayed on a webpage can be subject to copyright protection, and this would include scanned images of photographs of ukiyo-e prints and quite possibly scans of the prints themselves. Given the degree of distribution available on the internet, a person posting such an image may well be intending to dedicate it to the public and affirmatively acquiescing to the image being downloaded, copied, and redistributed. Then again, he or she may not, particularly if they have affixed a copyright notice on the work.
As a pratical matter, no one is likely going to complain much unless you make a commercial use of someone's image without express permission. I suspect that most print enthusiast's downloading would constitute fair use for scholarly or educational purposes. The Supreme Court's decision permitting home videotaping for personal use certainly suggests that this would be the case. Moreover, the absence of a formal copyright registration and copyright notice will make it difficult or impossible for the copyright owner to collect damages for the alleged infringement in any event.
Although I am a partner in a Washington, D.C. intellectual property law firm and I have studied copyright law, I do not practice in that field, so take what I say with a grain of salt. It is certainly not intended to constitute legal advice. Should you need legal advice, I will be happy to recommend one of the attorneys in my firm who specializes in this area.