Scott 1695 - This Does Not Mke A Lot Of Sense.

Hi guys

Unless I am going crazy, this does not make sense to me.

Below is a common Scott 1695 46 cent coil issued in 1998
Common stamp.



BUT..BUT, when I looked closer at it, it had a copyright date of 1989...9 years after the stamp had a copy right print and 510 stamps later...There is another flag coil stamp printed in 1991 (Scott 1394) but was a 42 cent stamp.


Why did the Post Office wait 9 years to release it..??

Am I loosing it..??


Robert

Hi Robert,

This is indeed an interesting observation. Engraved stamps with this same flag engraving also appeared in 1990 with 39c and 40c values. Obviously the artwork was prepared the year before in anticipation of the 25th anniversary of the flag in 1990. That engraved copyright notice has remained on the artwork since then and that is why it appears in 1998.

This does make sense from a legal standpoint as well. Earlier copyright notices is what owners should use to protect their copyrights. When an existing work is amended, like the value or colour of this stamp, owners have the option to amend the copyright notice (© 1989-1998 for example) but this is not necessary if the work is not substantially changed but only reproduced differently. So that copyright correctly identifies the engraving as originating from 1989 if not the actual stamp.

I come across the issue with updating copyright notices all the time with clients who want the copyright notice changed on all the pages of their websites each year. I constantly need to remind them that the year in this notice is meant to reflect the original copyright claim of the work and not the latest amendments. People do themselves a disservice if they do not keep earlier dates for copyrighted works.

I suspect Canada Post obtained the design copyright (which could allow a design range) and then developed a wide variety of products over a number of years. There have been numerous flag stamps - and while I don't know the law - I suspect copyright on each +stamp issue+ would not be needed.