Part of what is included in copyright protection is that you not profit from publishing something. This is why showing a page from a copyrighted album in which you've mounted your stamps is not going to violate anyone's copyright, but selling copies of pages probably would. But I suppose that is obvious.
And if you use only a small part of a a work -- a page or two from an album -- you are usually not considered to violate the work's copyright. Sort of like quoting at length in a research paper which is permitted.
I am not a lawyer, so the following is copied from a description of U.S. copyright law FYI:
- All works published in the U.S. before 1923 are in the public domain. [So early classic Scott albums appear not to be copyright anymore. Scott's regular updating of the albums surely make later printings of the same album copyright, but pre-1923 albums would appear not to be. I wonder if you could reprint -- for your own use or even for profit -- early pre-1923 Scott albums? For example the earliest two or three volumes of the classic brown Scott International albums predated 1923. This includes the 19th century volume and at least one or two of the early 20th century volumes. A later one or two volumes of this same album covering the 1920s and somewhat afterward get 95 years of protection -- see below -- which would not expire until 2020-30.]
- Works published after 1922, but before 1978 [many of the "classic" stamp albums we were familiar with as kids -- Minkus, Grossman, White Ace, others] are protected for 95 years from date of publication. [The earliest if these albums, published in the 1920s and 1930s, go into the public domain starting around 2015-2025, but later albums aren't public until the 2060s!]
If the work was created, but not published, before 1978, the copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. However, even if the author died over 70 years ago, the copyright in an unpublished work lasts until December 31, 2002.
- For works published after 1977, the copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. [These more recent albums will not be in the public domain until the very late 21st century -- long after we're all gone]
However, if the work is a work for hire (that is, the work is done in the course of employment or has been specifically commissioned) or is published anonymously or under a pseudonym, the copyright lasts
between 95 and 120 years, depending on the date the work is published.
- Lastly, if the work was published between 1923 and 1963, you must check with the U.S. Copyright Office to see whether the copyright was properly renewed. If the author failed to renew the copyright, the work has fallen into the public domain and you may use it.
I wonder how these laws affect albums like Scott Specialty albums for separate countries which use reprints of Scott's pre-1923 country pages from the old Scott brown Internationals -- with many updates since then, of course. (The Scott 'Brown' International album is where Scott Specialty album pages originated, Scott later publishing separate country versions beginning in the 1940s and 1950s using the same pages which had been in the old Brown albums). Are all pre-1923 Scott album pages in the public domain while later pages are not? I have not the slightest idea. And I'm not sure what use this would be to anyone -- unless they wanted to publish Scott's pre-1923 only pages for sale. That seems unlikely to attract many customers! |
Posted 12/24/2016 02:33 am
