Very interesting disscusion. I have consulted some few months ago some genltemens, most from USA and one from Holland, which are much more informed about the protection and international low. My basic interest was to take some extract from book published in 1919 and publish it on web. Free. Info I have found out the 70 years after the death of the author and if any other does not claim ownership over the publication this subject became public domain.
After the reading of this two page of various comment I have turn off PC and take just to overview on the many of the books I have. Best books are result of the many years study and the authros are visited, interview many of the surviving crew and their families. And collect their images and published here. Could this be possible to do with official images? Answer is simply- I have take and watch the date of publishing and from separate folder take various informational leflets I have get from various archive. So if you are going to use images from IWM you should ay at least 22 BP if the image is going to be published in magazine. Other charges is much higher. Bundsarchiv make charge in that time in regards to how many prints are going to be published and you could not take and release under the charge of some 104 DM. Now take any book or agazine, count the number of the images and see how much this cost? Answer is simple- we would not have today that much publication in the past.
In this way personal albums and search are important. And there should be determined- Copyright and Right. If somebody get image from grandson of the German WW1 fighter pilot could it use it? How to found out who make image? How many years to spent to found out that? And there is other solution- if on the image is many people presented this could mean that all of tem have a sample of image and maybe this sample is preserved until today. Copyright or Right? I think all of them have right to use it.
Many of images was once before released as Public Domain or Free Press Sample. Just some time ago I have place of this forum image of the Dornier Do215 which have been released before the war as free press release. I am sure that negative is still preserved and maybe Dornier or Bundesarchiv have it and can claim all right reserved but- Free Relesae is Free relase and all of this can be free used. If you order print now I am sure that you will be charged.
Only you can be sure that you have total ownership oer the image if you have made it. If not there will be always problem. Even if you have original, taken from veteran or buy on ebay, you could be faced with problem. Problem could be made by other resachers or Institution. As I can reusme from the many years of previous contact authors never have a problem with Institution [ if they use original from other source] but always have problem with other authors. So there is one term used by many of reseachers and authors:
"Publish and be damned"
Please don't take this moto as recomenation but just to show to you how the deep problem is.
Modern problem- if you get scan of original image and the scan is in the high resolution, do you have right to use it. Some publications accept it as original. But many does not care at all. Also one more problem- original black and white can be with easy converted by image editing software into the color. And this is then something new and open new gate to abuse Copyright and Rights over the original ownership. Good thing that in the moment I don't know any publisher who would accept that kind of "work" for the release in press. I hope that this will stay like this.
And what I know and what I am sure? I am sure that the there is protection over the images but this protection is for sure much more under the level how the protection is strong for the art work. Try to reroduce any art [ no matter is this da Vinci or the art made by Skyraider] you will be faced with the brutal low and court will have no mercy. In this way I am deeply sorry that one gentlemen here was stated just some time ago that his art was used without his permission!!!
What I will do? Be sure that I have no time machine and I could not back in time and collect directly couple thousand of old images I have in my collection. But this topic re-open some critical problem so in future I will use all I have collected for my own purpose and my own risk and would not forward any copy and risk to any other. Simly words- nobody would ever get anything from me. Until the things don't become clear.
To illustrate this problem I have attached three images and one color art I have in collection- recolored image of Werner Voss Fokker Trpilane, tail gun of He111, Gloster Schneider Trophy racer and my color profile. I am 100% sure that art is mine
