copy right of old family photos,

[Nick29]

If your photos were taken before the 1960s then there is NO copyright on them, per se.
Copyright on photos didn't exist before then.

The only copyright you can claim is the way you display them on your website.
But, as others have said, it is hard to stop people from downloading them, anyway.

Dawn M

Take care !  Copyright laws vary from country to country !   

[PrueM]

If your photos were taken before the 1960s then there is NO copyright on them, per se.
Copyright on photos didn't exist before then.

The only copyright you can claim is the way you display them on your website.
But, as others have said, it is hard to stop people from downloading them, anyway.

Dawn M

Take care !  Copyright laws vary from country to country !   

Indeed, which is why I posted this earlier:

Please see the topic here about copyright for photographs:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,459330.0.html

However, this relates only to copies of the original photo (e.g. a scan that you want to post on Rootschat).

[Nick29]

With respect, copyright laws are not really that clear-cut - there's a lot of 'grey areas'.  I haven't re-read the thread you linked to, but I clearly recall Guy Etchells reminding us all that a photo or scan of a document or image itself carries a copyright, if of course the person who did the scanning had the rights to photograph the item in the first place.

[pinefamily]

I understand the complexity of copyright laws, but surely photo's of a certain age would not be covered, just as some music and books are now in the free domain. Unless of course someone has re-copyrighted them.
This situation has come up in recent times here in Australia. School photo's and the photo companies that take children's photo's in shopping malls now apparently cannot be copied, because the copyright belongs to the photographer. Even though they are photo's you have paid for, of your own children! Personally, that's one law I don't mind breaking, because I am not going to pay for more overpriced photo's.

[kevinf2349]

I guess it really depends on which side of the cash register you are!

If I were a professional photographer I would be pretty mad if I thought someone was scanning my work and therefore taking the cash out of my pocket for producing a copy of it. Of course if they didn't charge so much for them people wouldn't mind so much.

For family 'snaps' I am not sure I would even bother with a copyright. Who other than family members is going to care  about 'stealing' a copy?

I always consider the internet much like a newspaper...never put anything on there that you don't want others to read or copy.

Just my two cents.

Kevin

[PrueM]

With respect, copyright laws are not really that clear-cut - there's a lot of 'grey areas'.  I haven't re-read the thread you linked to, but I clearly recall Guy Etchells reminding us all that a photo or scan of a document or image itself carries a copyright, if of course the person who did the scanning had the rights to photograph the item in the first place.

Yes, that's right - the link has links to sites about Copyright of photographs/artistic works for various countries.  Copyright of the original photograph (i.e. the right to make and distribute copies of it) and copyright of any copies (e.g. a copy of an old photo on a website) are two different things. 

[Billyblue]

Irrespective of what country you are in, photos taken 1920 and previous would - BEFORE 2005 - have run out of any copyright they might have held.
The photographer would surely be dead or at least past caring     

Dawn M

[joboy]

Take a look at what Rick Falkvinge had to say about copyright last August;
http://torrentfreak.com/get-ready-for-another-forty-years-of-corporate-copyright-bullshit-120826/
I am inclined to agree with his views ........ a lot of people would agree too methinks.
Joe

[Nick29]

I couldn't agree with that more !  The UK has the most draconian copyright laws in the western world.  It's still illegal to make backup copies of a CD that you have purchased.  If you've ever 'ripped' one of your own CDs to put it on your MP3 player, you have broken UK laws.