Photo origins no-nos

Question

This might be a foolish question, but would a photo from a high school yearbook Website be subject to copyright? An annual from Memphis (TN) Technical High School has a terrific picture of a cousin of mine in 1956. Would I be free to use it with proper citation? He died in 2017.

How about a newspaper wedding photo from his engagement announcement in 1979?

Thanks!

Answer 1

The short answer is no, see the info here  https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Photos_FAQ#How_do_you_know_if_you_have_permission_to_upload_a_photo.3F

You can cite the source and provide a link to the website photo in support of your info in the bio about it. 

Comments

Thanks for the link. I felt sure there was something said about it somewhere, but I couldn't find it. I'll rectify the situation right now. The information about providing a link is exactly what I needed to know. Your help is appreciated.

---

So it's permitted to supply the link to the Website, but not to link to it directly by posting the image online, is that right? Which means I can have the URL pointing to the site, but not the image itself.

---

Right, you can't take, download, copy, etc a photo you find on the internet and repost it anywhere, unless you know for sure that it is in the public domain or you have permission from the Owner of the Photo. People within Ancestry share a lot of stuff but many are not the original owner of the photo/document etc you see on their tree. So if you ask their permission to use it without asking if they are actually the holder of the original, you can find yourself violating copyright rules.  This rule also includes documents, copy paste of text from publications etc.  What you can do is create a citation listing your Source (in this case a website or newspaper), the website where you found it, the details about the photo/document, include an internet link to the item and include your access date (day you were on the website and saw the item) in your citation.

Hope that clarifies.

---

If you are given digital copies of an item by the owner or rightful holder of the information (like an archives) you can cite the Source (the archives or whatever), call it a copy of the original in your personal possession and as far as I know that can be uploaded here, Unless the provider makes it clear that such use is not allowed.

---

I went back to the site to take off the yearbook picture, but someone had already gone in and locked it as a 'private photo'. If I bought the yearbook from someone, photocopied the picture, and uploaded it myself, would that work? Am I being a doofus for asking this kind of question on the G2G site?

---

No, buying the yearbook, taking a copy from the publication and still not having the publisher/owner's express permission to use the photo is not allowed. You cannot post it anywhere without that permission. You could hold the copy in your personal possession, but not post it anywhere else.

---

You can cite the yearbook website where the photo can be viewed and add the link to the photo.

---

No your not being a doofas!! It is very good that you are learning what you need to know about the copyright rules. It can be a bit confusing at first, but you will get the hang of it. The help page links I gave you have additional links to explain some of this, and of course the internet has tons of info on it. Be aware that not all countries have exactly the same rules, better to err on the side of caution is my best advice.

---

Thank you for the explanations, Lorraine. Your willingness to help and your explanations are truly helpful. Many, many thanks!

---

.....

Answer 2

Copyright laws are complicated. Then there is "Fair Use" clauses.  Then there is the stipulation that if the picture is taken before the current law dated 1978,and then the publisher has to re-apply for copyrights. Then there is the financial gain you make off of using this material...which is none!

Let's say you take an original picture of a gravestone, upload it to Find A Grave...Well, they technically now own the rights. But what if you took your same original picture and uploaded it on WikiTree?  Does Find A Grave sue WikiTree or you? It is your picture! 

It gets so complicated lawyers can't even figure it out. In my opion, I think the thing that saves everyone who ignores copywrites is that it costs more to proceed with litigation than it is worth.  If someone has a problem, they generally first ask for it be removed. The next step is a lawyer will send a letter (which costs the client a lot of money) then then next step really costs the client money...and it might be in the end all that one has to do is remove the picture and nothing else happens. 

I am taking PIP training, and this is one of the things we discuss. The commonsense thing to do is respect others property. Period!  It was also pointed out to me that having a picture in a profile is not even necessary to WikiTree's goals.  We want to connect people with each other.  A picture is not required nor does it add strength to the tree. Primary Sources are what is needed!  Just saying!

Comments

David and Lorraine, y'all are awesome! You both have made me realize what a whiner I was being. Thanks for reminding me that we're all in this together.

---

So, is there a many years date that say school album pictures are public domain?

---

@C. B : This gets complicated: Was the album, collection and materials created before 1978. Was the collection re-copyrighted (or did some one buy the rights) to said work and re-applied for protection, or not, and do they stand to lose money and do you stand to profit, and do you own the site where you want to upload the information to, and does that site have a say so?  I'm not a lawyer. I am an artist and my work, designs and creations in the past have been compromised. My experience has been negative even retaining a lawyer, and the costs involved.  But big publishing companies have deep pockets... just saying!