Re:Is Mark Twain's 100-year-old+ autobiography covered by co...
by Someone on Sunday October 24, 2010 @07:15AM
(#1825849)
I would guess that, if you tried, you would discover that that 'anyone can reproduce the original' is not quite true. For example, the Getty site says:
Handheld and video cameras using existing light are welcome in the permanent collection galleries. Please check at the entrance of the changing exhibitions for any restrictions in those galleries. Flash photography, tripods, and monopods are not permitted.
Those limitations make making a good reproduction a challenge.
As to your question: they are probably asserting the copyright on the photograph itself, not on what it depicts. That is perfectly OK. If that weren't possible, press photographers would have a hard time making a living.
Handheld and video cameras using existing light are welcome in the permanent collection galleries. Please check at the entrance of the changing exhibitions for any restrictions in those galleries. Flash photography, tripods, and monopods are not permitted.
Those limitations make making a good reproduction a challenge.
As to your question: they are probably asserting the copyright on the photograph itself, not on what it depicts. That is perfectly OK. If that weren't possible, press photographers would have a hard time making a living.