User:Rlandmann/PhotoFAQ

As the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words, and to say that "the Transavia Airtruk was a mid-wing cantilever monoplane of short-coupled pod-and-boom configuration with fixed tricycle undercarriage" in no way does justice to this design. Wherever possible, every Wikipedia article about an aircraft should be accompanied by a photo or illustration of some sort. The question is: where to get one?

Your choices are basically:

• A photo in the public domain
• A copyrighted photo under a "free licence"
• A copyrighted photo used under "fair use"

A copyright primer

Most systems of law today hold that every picture belongs to somebody, whether that "somebody" be an individual, a corporation, a government, or the general public. That "somebody" has certain legal rights as to the use of that image, and the most fundamental of these is the right to decide who can make a copy of the picture (hence "copyright").

In most respects, these rights are an asset like any other piece of property. Significantly, they can be sold to someone else, or "rented out" for someone else to use. When copyrights are "rented out" to allow someone other than the original photographer to make copies of a photo, this is called a licence, and the photographer and user of the photo must agree on some terms.

In a simple example, a photographer might allow a company to use one of their photos on a postcard, in exchange for a certain amount of money. Apart from the money, the photographer might set other conditions too; for example that their name must appear on the back of the postcard, or that the company can only use this photo on postcards that will be sold in a certain place, or that they can only make postcards out of this photo up to a certain date and then stop. Alternatively, the photographer might agree to give up all say in how, when, or where the photo is used in future, in exchange for a larger sum of money. In this case, the copyright now belongs to the company that prints the postcards.

Of course, just because you create something doesn't mean that you necessarily own it. If you're employed to build wooden boxes, then the wooden boxes that you make belong to your employer, not to you. Similarly, if you take a photograph as part of your job, the photograph belongs to the person, company, or government that employed you to take it. And just like if your neighbour were to suddenly pass away, you wouldn't be allowed to simply help yourself to her car, copyrights are property that will be inherited by someone else once the photographer has died.

The public domain

An important difference between copyright and other forms of property is that while a dining table can be passed down from generation to generation almost forever, the right to a say in who can copy your photo eventually disappears. In most countries, this event, known as "expiry" happens on December 31 in the year of the 70th anniversary of the photographer's death - if the photo has been published at some point in time. An unpublished photo never enters the public domain. How might you come across an "unpublished" photo? Examples might include photos found in family albums from a garage sale, or photos held in various libraries or archives, even if these photos are available to view on line. This last point is very important - making a photo available on line does not count as publication for the purposes of copyright expiry!

What's in the public domain now?

Antique photos

Any photo published (not just taken) anywhere in the world before 31 December 1923. This will include many pioneering and World War I aviation photos, and significantly, every annual edition of Jane's All the World's Aircraft from its first edition in 1909 up to 1923. Large public libraries will often have early JAWAs, and the 1913 and 1919 editions were reprinted in facsimilie editions in the late 1960s and may be found second-hand at reasonable prices. More recently, an omnibus edition titled Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I was published that is essentially a reprint of the 1919 edition, with additional material from the 1914, 1916, 1917, and 1918 editions inserted. At the time of writing, Distributed Proofreaders is preparing the 1913 edition for release through Project Gutenberg.

Usually, if we know the timeframe in which the aircraft was operating, we can make a good estimate of when the photo was taken, the problem will usually be showing that the photo was indeed published prior to that date. Antique postcard images will often be a good source, since they may often be reasonably assumed to have been published close to the time of the aircraft's operation.

Any photo published anywhere in the world taken by a photographer who died on or before 31 December 1936. While potentially this is very valuable, practically it is almost useless. The photos of aircraft that we typically find in books or online seldom even identify their photographers, let alone the date of the photographer's death.

Photos belonging to the U.S. federal government

Any photo created by an employee of the U.S. (not any other country) federal (not U.S. states) government in the course of his or her duties. This is an incredibly rich resource for aircraft photos, with the only danger being not to read too much into it. Most significantly, this includes any official photo taken for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or NASA.

NASA photos are particularly helpful, since copies found on-line invariably identify their source. Other invaluable sources are the National Museum of the USAF and the Naval Historical Centre, both of which explicitly state that their photographic content is in the public domain.

Temptation #1 - .mil and .gov websites Careful! Just because a photo is published on a .mil or .gov website does not necessarily mean that the photo belongs to the U.S. federal government. For example, the department or agency may have purchased a licence to use the photo from someone else. Always look carefully at a page and the home page of a site to look for copyright notices, and it can't hurt to contact the webmaster if there's any doubt.

Temptation #2 - the subject of the photo It should go without saying, but just because it's a photo of a U.S. military aircraft does not mean that the photo was necessarily taken by a member of the U.S. military, much less taken by a member of the U.S. military in the course of performing their duties. Was the photo taken by an employee of the manufacturer (officially or unofficially)? Was it taken by a civillian employee of an airfield? Was it taken by a plane-spotter? Or was it even taken by a member of the aircraft's crew off-duty as a souvenir? Photos of aircraft or personnel "in action" can often reasonably be assumed to have been taken in the course of someone's duty.

Photos in the public domain in certain countries

USA

Any photo first published in the United States prior to 1977 without a copyright notice. A peculiarity of US law was that in order for the copyright in a published work to be valid, it had to carry a notice. Of course, practically every book, magazine, and other publication would carry such a notice. Useful exceptions might include newsletters and other ephemera produced by aeroclubs, or advertising pamphlets by airlines or aircraft manufacturers.

UK

Any photo created by an employee of the British government in the course of his or her duties published (not just taken) in the UK before 1957. British "Crown copyright" expires 50 years after original publication. As with some other public domain categories above, the trick is in establishing when the photo was first published - easy if you can lay hands on an old book that credits photos as "Crown copyright" or perhaps "Courtesy of the RAF".

Australia

Any photo created by an employee of the Australian government in the course of his or her duties published (not just taken) in Australia before 1957. Australia, as a federation of former British colonies, has retained the notion of "Crown copyright" - see above.

Any photo taken by anyone in Australia before 1955, whether published or not. Because of the way in which the Australian government revised the nation's copyright laws in 2005, photos older than 50 years were specifically left unprotected.

Canada

Any photo created by an employee of the Canadian government in the course of his or her duties published (not just taken) in Canada before 1957. Canada, as a federation of former British colonies, has retained the notion of "Crown copyright" - see above.

Any photo taken by anyone in Canada before 1949, whether published or not. Because of the way in which the Canadian government revised the nation's copyright laws in 1999, photos older than 50 years were specifically left unprotected.

Japan

Any photo published (not just taken) in Japan before 1957.

Any photo taken by anyone in Japan before 1947, whether published or not.

Russia and USSR

Russia

70 pma