2009/8/10 Andrew Turvey andrewrturvey@googlemail.com:
That's interesting. How does this apply to the National Portrait Gallery images then? These were copies of a British digitization which, under UK copyright law, qualifies as a new item subject to copyright.
...to be more accurate, *maybe* it does. The law is distinctly vague on this; the statute leans one way, the caselaw leans the other, and common sense shakes its head and gives up. Good arguments either way, both on legal grounds and those of public policy, but no clear statement; and that is sadly the limbo it will remain in until someone goes to court.