Copyright question, please?

[SmallTownGirl]

If, say, you have a photo from WW1 (i.e. 1914-1918) that you found in your granny's attic, or you bought from Ebay (other sites are available!) or otherwise acquired, and you post it onto your blog/website, can you then claim copyright on it, please?

I've read the UK Government's pdf file on copyright, but I'm still not clear.

Thanks
STG

[Flattybasher9]

You cannot claim copyright for anyone elses work unless they were contracted to you.

Malky

[Mart 'n' Al]

I designed a product comma and then found that it was being mass produced in the Far East. I had the proper copyright protection, but what can I do about 800 million people in the Far East copying it? It might work in the UK, possibly Europe maybe in America but forget the rest of the world. The same goes for your photograph.

Martin

[smudwhisk]

As Malky says, you can't claim copyright of the photo itself but I believe it may be possible to claim copyright of the scanned (or photographed) image of the photo.  However, I suspect if this is the case and in the circumstances of a dispute you would have to prove that a 3rd party did not have a copy of the same photo and had scanned it themselves as opposed to making use of your scan.  That said, I am not an expert in that area.

[PaulineJ]

why don't you simply watermark the image if you don't want it copied/purloined?

[SmallTownGirl]

why don't you simply watermark the image if you don't want it copied/purloined?

It's not my photograph.  It's an image I have seen online from WW1 where the website owner is claiming copyright because they have a copy of the photo (either inherited, purchased or sent to them by someone else) and have uploaded it to their website.

[PaulineJ]

So they may be able to claim copyright (or similar) to the electronic form of the image, but not the original.
If you had a physical (paper/printed) photo of your own from granny's attic, then you are free to scan your own electronic copy.

[RJ_Paton]

Providing the original photograph is out of copyright (from its original creation) then we are talking about two different items.
This person can claim copyright in the website which includes the image but they cannot claim copyright in the image itself.

Copyright law varies from country to country and what may be perfectly legal in one jurisdiction contravenes laws in another.

[majm]

Have you sought legal advice?
JM