Alan and Dan, You guys are now getting around to different issues, and more to the point that you probably want to use: possession. Copyright goes to the creator and it may be given away, sold or licensed. This is a Good Thing for photographers so no one can rip off your work. Now, when you find an old photograph, or a Van Gogh at a flea market, and you feel the image has value, you do have some rights, but you cannot copyright these items just because you found them and recognized the value that everyone else missed. Once you have posssession of an image whose copyright has expired, you can limit access to the image. It is private property and you do not have to share it with anyone if you so choose. If you display it in your home or office, it is on private property and you have every right to deny anyone privileges to photograph objects in your home. But that is a privacy issue, not a copyright issue. And, alas, the laws here are more criminal than civil and although someone could be busted, you may not be able to gain financially if someone reproduces your "find" and sells the reproduction. But you could try. One last item: if you make a "find," and you try to sell, reproduce or otherwise profit from the image AND the creator still has a copyright, you are in trouble. As photographers, this is the way you want it to be. Too often, people feel that possession or ownership of art is equivalent to the right of reproduction. It is not. The creator, unless the rights are transferred, is the ONLY person who can make copies and profit from the copies. Think about that. You wouldn't want it any other way. As far as PhotoRoy6's question: if the old photographs are old enough and there is no copyright--or it has expired, you can use the photos for any purpose you want--including selling the photos--but YOU cannot copyright them. One thing you can do that may help for these old photos if you put them on the Web is to do what book printers do with old texts such as Melville's _Moby Dick,_ where the copyright has expired. Put some new text on the Web page (even a heading will do), and then put a copyright notice on the bottom of the page. You may not be able to copyright the photo (or the text to _Moby Dick_), but you can copyright your page. This may fool some folks, but probably only the honest ones who would not have ripped you off in the first place. Thieves and pirates will always be thieves and pirates. Standard disclaimer here: the above is my personal understanding of how things are. I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on television. (I don't even watch TV for that matter.) But I do read a lot. (Aren't there some real lawyers on the list that can explain this better than I?) peace, rand
