# Copyright on public domain pictures **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 8, 2004, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-on-public-domain-pictures/268195 "2004-10-08T14:21:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-on-public-domain-pictures/268195/21 "2004-10-09T02:02:27Z")
It said: > [@](#): > > The short answer, which you can see from the long answer is **atangle with loopholes** , is that if the art is in the public domain and the photo is an exact duplication of the painting or fresco, you are free to copy the work. The loopholes a-tangling made me say “maybe”. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-on-public-domain-pictures/268195/22 "2004-10-09T03:14:11Z")
Thanks for the guidance. I may talk it over with a lawyer to be sure, but I thought I dimly recognized that these galeries and so forth were claiming a heck of a whole lot of right they didn’t have. We’ve been looking all over and I noticed that some people were claiming copyright for scans of images out of art books. They may have been good scans, but there was a fundamental conflict between the people who say “this is a public domain scan made as faithfully as possible” and the idea that they can block by use of their scans if I similarly change the format. > [@](#): > > So your question is, because you can’t take the time and expense to get a rights-free reproduction of the work, you want to know if it’s legal to copy the work of someone who did get the rights? If you want to be insulting about it; I have no desire to pay out 40 bucks to some corporation so I can use a grainy gif of a 30-year old painting. > [@](#): > > Also note Bridgeman does not prevent people on a message board from insinuating that you’re a thief or potential criminal - or giving you wrong advice and unintentionally making you into one. So don’t take my word for it as The Truth if you’re thinking of starting a business Hey, I don’t trust anyone I don’t know. 😉 I’ll be careful; that was the whole point of asking. If I can get 10 dopers onto answering a legal question, I can usually get a general idea of the boundaries and specifics of the law. Plus, I’m a real bastard. If someone tries to send me a cease-and-desist-letter I’ll fight them al the way - if my lawyer agrees I’m in the right. And from what I understand they’d have to (a) prove material damages, which may be difficult (b) prove I used their photograph; once it has been copied, exported, scanned, and recopied across the net, exported into a bitmap and then print format ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-on-public-domain-pictures/268195/23 "2004-10-09T03:55:16Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > And from what I understand they’d have to > (a) prove material damages, which may be difficult > (b) prove I used their photograph; once it has been copied, exported, scanned, and recopied across the net, exported into a bitmap and then print format But I don’t think it even gets that far. Unless they are 1) trying to make you knuckle, or 2) really want to get another District Court ruling on the same principles as _Bridgeman_, I see little evidence to suggest you would not be in the clear. Most importantly (this is my opinion, not a cite or factual evidence), you are morally in the clear with respect to both the underlying purpose of the existence of the Public Domain, and with respect to the definition of what constitutes original, creative effort. Remember, however, that some museums and publishers have lawyers on the staff getting paid whether they’re playing Doom3, or suing college students into the Stone Age because they dared to use scans of Renaissance tapestries on a student website. Some of these people, from my communications with them by e-mail, are not only indignant when you point out _Bridgeman_, they get absolutely hostile and simply repeat a mantra that they will grind you out like a cigarette butt in court. Which I’d love to see - I’d love to see this go to the USSC, as my opinion is that the findings in _Bridgeman_ would be upheld. So let’s hope you get sued, and fight all the way to the top! Do it, man! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-on-public-domain-pictures/268195/24 "2004-10-09T16:57:42Z")
if I get sued, I’ll be talking to every conservative anti-government regulation legal tank, the ACLU, and get myself a lawyer who loves publicity. 😉 If they want to play hardball with me… well, I’ve got a lot of time on my hands and I’ve been watching publicity stunts my whole life. If they want to dick with me I’ll rip of their nuts. By the time I get done Congress will be slathering over the opportunity to score some cheap points with the little guy. Besides, when they send their lawyer over, I;ll make sure they see the prominently displayed picture of me and Bill Frist… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-on-public-domain-pictures/268195/25 "2004-10-09T18:06:54Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Paying people to illustrate takes money, which I am loath to spend, especially when I don’t know anyone to draw for us. As a commercial illustrator who routinely meets clients who don’t want to pay for original artwork\*, I’m a little unsympathetic to your cause. ## Since I’m not clear on what your project is (Are you publishing an illustrated book about art history?), I’m at a loss for suggestions. But can’t you just buy a book of Clip-Art? They’re real cheap and you can use the illustrations for whatever nefarious purpose you want, forever. Barnes & Noble sells them. \*“You expect to get _paid_ for drawing that? Drawing is _fun_! You can’t get paid for having fun!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copyright-on-public-domain-pictures/268195.md?page=1)