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[FormerPhotog]

First, thank you for providing this forum. Sincerely.

1) I have a website that I make available to (anyone/anyuser on the Net) to post photos on.  Essentially I am providing website space to them.

2) Am I, as site owner, legally liable if other people post photos that they do not own copyright to?

3) Am I violating copyright laws by posting old studio shot, as well as family type photos I inherited, and did not shoot or photograph?  Many are 75+ yrs old.  Some are not.

4) The website is based in Minnesota, I am based in Minnesota, therefore, am I bound by first Federal copyright laws and then secondly, any secondary and followup Minnesota law pertaining to copyright and use of photos that are not mine?  Or is it strictly covered by US Copyright laws per federal?

5) Mind you, I don't want to violate laws or copyright, it isn't my intention, I am attempting to avoid doing either by researching this.


I do want to mention that as a photographer, I completely respect other peoples desire to be paid for their work.  I also want to make sure I don't have to spend my hard earned money due to errors I may make or others may make. 

[artchain]

(1/2)  Under the terms of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), you as the site operator are not liable for copyright infringement by third-party content posters, provided you have an agent for notification of such infringement, and take down the infringing materials when notified.  That's a very general summary; you'll need to do some research to determine how to be fully compliant with the DMCA, but the goods news is you can avoid liability.

(3)  Whether or not your use of old photos is a copyright infringement may depend on the age, whether the photos were previously published, whether the copyright was registered, whether the author is know, etc.  There's a very good table explaining copyright terms and expiration on the Cornell University website:  http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm

(4)  Copyright laws in the United States are federal law, established by congress and specifically authorized in the constitution. 

[FormerPhotog]

Thank you very much for your assistance in locating the correct information.

Now, what I would consider a logical followup question:  how does anyone, including a court, define and/or verify ownership or copyrighted ownership of a photo that is 25,50, 100, 200 yrs old?  If there is no name or copyright on the photo, and someone rises up and says, "I own that photo, take it down or pay me $$$"  how does one go about verifying that they do in fact, own it?  How does one politely ask a claimant to provide proof of ownership?  I can see where that aspect could be messy.

[artchain]

Read that Cornell document carefully, and you'll find that there are many situations where old photos are in the public domain...  for example, if unpublished and over 120 years old, if published before 1923;,or if published 1923-1977 without copyright notice.

If someone is claiming copyright as part of a DMCA takedown request, there are penalties for perjury, but unless the request is challenged by the original poster, the site operator is required to comply (or risk liability).

If you are the person who used or posted the photo, bear in mind that the person claiming copyright will have to register the copyright (if it is not already registered) prior to commencing legal action.  If the case actually comes to a trial, the claimant would have to produce reasonable evidence to support their claim of ownership.

Since any form of legal action can become expensive, it comes down to what it's worth to you, and what it's worth to the other party.  In most cases it's probably smartest to just comply.  If you have strong reasons to NOT take down the photo, consult an attorney to discuss the specifics of the situation.

[FormerPhotog]

Excellent and concise information.

Thank you!