[Foundation-l] At least 500 images will have to be deleted from the National Portrait Gallery

[Michael Maggs]

An interesting theory, but it does not work, of course, or Commons 
policy would be in chaos.  You cannot arbitarily choose which country is 
the one in which the works were published to suit Commons' convenience.

There is no choice of law here: the photographs were taken in the UK, of 
paintings held in the UK, on behalf of a UK museum, and have been 
published by that museum on a UK website and by issuing postcards and 
other reproductions in the UK.   Why would any UK court think that US 
law should be applied?

Michael

geni wrote:
> 2008/7/23 Michael Maggs <Michael at maggs.name>:
>   
>> Nobody wants to delete these images but Commons policy is that the image
>> must be PD in both the and the UK.   According to this recent case law,
>> these are clearly copyright images in the UK.
>>
>> Michael
>>     
>
>
> Strangely no. Commons requires works to be PD in the US and country of
> origin. Anywhere a work has been published will do as it's country of
> origin. In their ah more extreme attempts to expand their jurisdiction
> UK courts have decided that if a website is viewable in the UK it is
> published there. Extending this doctrine we can conclude that they
> would take the view that if a website is visible in the US the work is
> published there. Since the works have been published in the US we only
> need concern ourselves with US law.
>
>
>