Question

Am I permitted to upload a newspaper clipping of my great grandparents anniversary celebration that I found online?

Answer 1

Yes, you will need to source the newspaper when you upload the clipping. The name of the newspaper, location, date, page, and what online source you located it on. If you found it on Newspapers.com then add that in the source so that it can be located.

Comments

Laura, can you clarify how that works with the newspapers.com terms of service?

---

They allow you to share clippings. It is in the help section about clippings. I have also written to them and asked.

---

We are assuming the original poster obtained the image from Newspapers.com (which they did not state). If that is so, I think they--Ancestry.com which owns Newspapers.com--allow you to freely share the clipping link. This would be different than downloading the image and then uploading it to another website. If one wishes to obtain permission to use copyrighted elements from any of the services under the Ancestry.com umbrella, they can consult this page for contact information.

The original poster could have obtained the image from another website (even directly from the newspaper archives) and should try to determine who, if anyone, owns the copyright (if any still applies) and contact that entity directly to obtain permission.

---

Thank you, Nelda.

I will admit to having uploaded scans of clippings I've found in my family collection, including in an old Bible I've inherited.  In those cases, I don't think later terms of service apply.  But I'm not sure.

Edited to remove confusing reference.

---

Thank you, Nelda, for explaining that to the others more clearly. I did not assume they found the clipping from newspapers.com which was why I said: "which online source you located it on". I was using newspapers.com as an example of an online site. I may not have stated that clearly enough.

---

Copyright laws are complex and vary from country to country.

"The Legal Genealogist" Judy Russell writes about copyright from time to time. One of her most recent articles which perhaps applies in the situation of the original poster if the downloaded clipping was obtained from Newspapers.com is "Contract, not copyright. (Edit: Her blog is searchable and other articles may be found which may better address the original poster's question.)

---

Yes, they can be very complex. That is an interesting article and explains it pretty clearly.

---

Here's a link to another of Judy Russell's articles which might be relevant..."Credit doesn't cut it."

---

Thank you, for posting these links they will help others better understand. It is always best to read the TOS of the website or get written permission. I should have stated that from the start.