Inspired by the auction of 700 NASA space program photographs, I was wondering who owns the copyright for the famous 1972 “The Blue Marble” photograph, taken by someone on board Apollo 17. Everything I have read says that it’s not certain which of the astronauts took the photo.
Per NASA’s FAQ, nobody owns the copyright. For any NASA image.
I should have scrolled up; evidently there are some images which specify a copyright but as17-148-22727 isn’t among those.
Any photography made on the taxpayer’s dime is usually public domain. Anything taken by an astronaut in space almost certainly is.
So far as who took the picture…well, they’re not sure, but your wiki link has this to say:
NASA credits the image to the entire Apollo 17 crew—Gene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt—all of whom took photographs during the mission with the on-board Hasselblad, although evidence examined after the mission suggests that Schmitt was the photographer.
Bolding mine.
If the taxes go to the US federal government, yes. But not all governments put their works in the public domain.
Again, if they’re working for NASA, sure. If they’re working for some other space agency, then you’d need to check with them.
I wasn’t being obtusely US-centric; the OP was asking specifically about a NASA photograph in 1972.
So why is the current Christie’s auction happening? Is NASA trying to drum up some cash? I didn’t see anything about who currently owns those.
I have a friend who is the granddaughter of one of the Apollo astronauts that walked on the moon. She and her mother both have many artifacts that came back from the moon. Her grandfathers flight suit. several moon rocks, even a pair of earrings that were made for her grandmother from moon rocks, and even a few very identifiable items that I won’t mention as they would readily identify the astronaut.
They’re selling someone’s collection of prints. It’s not NASA.
From NASA’s FAQ:
- NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted. If copyrighted, permission should be obtained from the copyright owner prior to use. If not copyrighted, NASA material may be reproduced and distributed without further permission from NASA.
I don’t think NASA itself can copyright anything. I take that passage to mean if that NASA may have acquired some material from outside sources, and the copyright(s) for that material might be held by the original source(s). But I Am Not A Copyright Lawyer, so that may be completely wrong.
They’re part of a collection of prints owned by a private collector, Victor Martin-Malburet.
Again, this isn’t NASA’s collection. A private photograph collector assembled a collection of prints. These prints can be sold by anyone.
I think my Post #12 and your Post #13 crossed each other in the aether.
I’m bit confused by your post, though. OP’s question was about the copyright for the “Blue Marble” image. Skywatcher replied first that no NASA images are copyrighted, then corrected themselves that some may be, but the “Blue Marble” image isn’t. I was replying to that, which has nothing (directly) to do with the auction.
And just in case it’s not completely clear: Even if nobody owns the image, someone can and does own the particular piece of glass or celluloid or whatever that bears the image. The auction is for a physical object.
Original NASA prints can be significantly valuable even though the image on them is public domain. For example, if you have one of the first run “Blue Marble” prints on NASA paper printed right after Apollo 17, that’s going to have some value, where printing the same image on your printer at home isn’t going to have any real value at all.
If the prints being auctioned are first-run NASA type prints or other limited edition prints they could be quite valuable.
Thank folks for the info. I love the Blue Marble image, although I can’t swing $10500 for the early print being auctioned. Instead, I’m considering getting the image printed on glass. That’s much more my price range.
NASA says that “NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted.” However, my understanding is that any creative work is automatically copyrighted upon its creation. The protections for this type of copyright are more limited than if you file a copyright application, but it is copyrighted nonetheless. I do not know what is necessary to release a copyrighted work into the public domain prior to copyright expiration, but I am not sure that “public domain” is quite the right description here. I think that the more appropriate description, notwithstanding NASA’s own statements, is that NASA grants blanket permission to use its materials that are not marked by a copyright notice, subject to its other conditions noted in the FAQs.
Under U.S. copyright laws, with a few exceptions, U.S. Government Works are not and cannot be copyrighted.
Not just photos, either. JPL/NASA concept artists create fantastic artwork that anybody can use for any purpose. For example:
