[Wikipedia-l] Image usage

[Jay Bowks]

From: "Mirko Thiessen" <mt at mirko-thiessen.de>
> All images on that site are drawings from a 1905 field guide, and so
> they should be public domain. BUT all images were (as they describe on
> their page) scanned and reworked with a graphics tool in order to
> change contrast, lightness and hue. I don't know, if this makes the
> owners of the website new copyright holders.[...]
> Can anyone tell me, if I am allowed to use these images?

Hi Mirko,
If you rework them yourself also 
I would think you'd be just as much
a re-author of the images. I'm not
sure of the legalities, but I was under
the impression that if you use other
images to create a third image but
not for profit that this was allowed
under artistic expression. Again,
I'm not sure of the legalities but
projects I've worked on for schools
have followed this procedure, of
course the field of education can
get away with a lot in this regard...
akin to cutting and pasting photos
from magazines to make a collage
for a class project. 

Are there sites which one could
look up the legalities of this issue?

I can pass it by our school district legal
advisor and I'll see what I can learn
about it... It's definitely a situation that
could come up again and again...

Cheers,
Jay B.