The Intellectual Property Forum

If you do not have permission to use the pictures that you 'found' (either explicitly from the copyright owner, or because there was a statement with the images allowing you to use them), then you've already infringed the rights of the copyright owner, even if you don't set up a website. If you set up a website, it likely makes the circumstances more dire: bringing more attention to the activity and making it obvious that you're making money out of it.

Multiple issues:

While copyright has expired, the trademark rights are still valid.

Thus, you can freely reproduce and use the image, but if you use it in the course of trade in a confusing way with the registered trade mark, then you will have problems. If you just sell lots of posters, then you're fine.

In some countries (in fact, in many other than the US, which refused to agree to these provisions of Berne), copyright owners have "moral rights" which extend to "derogatory" treatment of works, and to "attribution". If you "scrub" out someones signature from a work, you may have problems. Of course, this all depends on the practicality of whether the artist or their estate will come after you.

Although the original poster may have legal title in the copyright, there may be an equitable issue here because they were acting in a partnership - whether it was formal or not.

This may be mean that in the absence of contract or otherwise, that the other administrator has some implied license to continue using the work, but such an implied license would not allow any other dealing (i.e. the administrator would not be able to sell or deal with the work other than use it solely for continuing to run the web site).

I don't understand what you actually want out of the whole deal? You say you want your source code back: does this mean that you don't have your own copy of it? If so, then you are entitled to demand it, and seek legal remedy if they don't offer it up. If you do have your own copy, then what are you trying to do by forcing the other guy to stop using it? Do you want license or income from your work? Do you want to prevent the guy from further selling or dealing with your work?

Common law rights (and, perhaps copyright) only. Note that the burden of using common law rights is higher than registered rights - thus it may be more difficult for the owner. You likely need to see a professional to weigh up the factual circumstances.

Just to be picky: although the copyright expired on the original paintings, there may be fresh copyright on any recent photographs of those paintings, so in using images of the works, one would need to be careful about where they were sourced from. Certainly in the UK, under the "skill, labour and judgement" threshold, such photographs could attract rights, but possibly in the US under "a modicum of creativity" they may not pass muster. Comments?

"I use images I find on free porn sites to add to my work"

You have just admitted that you copy the images, which is an infringement of the copyright unless you have permission from the copyright owner to do so, or the images are in the public domain.

"I dont use the images as I find them, I edit them ..."

That doesn't matter: you copied them to start with. It may only make it more difficult for the copyright owner to identify the modified images.

In summary: you are infringing, and just like driving over the speed limit, you may or may not caught depending upon whether the police are on your stretch of road. Whether you choose to take the risk and possibly pay the price is up to you.

The only possibility is that if your work is artistic or critical in some way, such as a political parody or satire, then you may have a defence.

Nothing forces you to provide the photographs to anyone.

The person requesting the photographs is legally entitled to do anything they please with the printed newspaper version of the photograph if they desire (i.e. from newspaper/library archives), but they cannot force you to provide the original photogaphs.

If you are concerned about the intended use of the photographs, you could provide them under a limited license. For example, if the person is writing a historical publication, then politely indicate that you are happy to provide the photographs if they construct a license (formal or informal) stating that they will only use the photographs for their publication, and no other purposes. If the person is going to make a commercial business out of the photographs, then provide them on a per-reproduction license agreement: you could benefit out of the deal as well.