[LAU] New film: This is Art..

[Roberto Gordo Saez]

On Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 05:14:17PM -0700, Norval Watson wrote:
> I have very little understanding of copyright law but I thought it
> might be OK to use stuff if the artist/author had been dead for 50
> years or more? Maybe the museums could claim copyright on the picture
> frames? ;)
> Norv

It's not copyright, there are other laws. Quoting Wikipedia:

  "Particularly in relation to photographers a number of other
  considerations may also restrict your right to take or publish
  photographs. For example a photograph of a person may infringe their
  right to privacy. Similarly you may not have the right to take
  photographs in non-public locations. These restrictions are often
  mistakenly referred to as copyright infringements when in fact other
  laws apply."

Those laws are not universal, they change from one country to another. It
is usually forbiden on many european countries to publish photos taken on
non-public locations unless a permission is previously granted. Sometimes
taking photos of public locations is also forbiden, and the laws can be
quite complex and boring, see example:
http://4020.net/words/photorights.php