these guys might own the copyright 
http://seattlecenter.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/1962-Seattle-Worlds-Fair/106938462090

On Dec 9, 2011, at 12:53 PM, Doran, Michael D wrote:

> Hi Trish,
> 
> Thank you for the referral.  I looked through that but I don't think my intended use (an unofficial code4lib conference t-shirt) can be categorized as teaching, research, or study. ;-)  I may do a one-off copy for myself.
> 
> -- Michael
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
>> Trish Rose-Sandler
>> Sent: Friday, December 09, 2011 1:56 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] copyright/fair use considerations for re-using
>> Seattle World's Fair images
>> 
>> Michael,
>> 
>> If you think your use falls under Fair Use you may find the recently
>> released document from the Visual Resources Association useful
>> 
>> *Statement on the Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research, and Study*. *
>> http://www.vraweb.org/organization/pdf/VRAFairUseGuidelinesFinal.pdf*.
>> 
>> Trish Rose-Sandler
>> Data Analyst, Biodiversity Heritage Library Project
>> http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/
>> 
>> 
>> On Fri, Dec 9, 2011 at 1:45 PM, Beanworks <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> 
>>> I think what Cary is trying to say is "welcome to the fun world of
>>> copyright!"
>>> 
>>> No, you shouldn't assume copyright was not renewed. You will need to
>>> determine (1) who the copyright holder is/was and (2) whether the
>> copyright
>>> has lapsed. This is not always an easy task, which is why you need to
>>> document your good faith efforts (which will, of course, be exhaustive).
>>> 
>>> Carol
>>> 
>>> On Dec 9, 2011, at 2:26 PM, Cary Gordon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Copyright law requires that you make a good-faith effort to find the
>>>> copyright owners. If you document such effort and they sue you, this
>>>> can weigh heavily in your favor. There are two obvious caveats: a) You
>>>> can still get sued, not to mention annoying cease-and-desist letters;
>>>> and 2) They could still win.
>>>> 
>>>> Being that we are, for the most part, not art critics, you could
>>>> consider creating original art. You might get mocked, particularly
>>>> after a few beers, but that's just the way we roll. Of course, if you
>>>> buy beer, that will reduce any mock risk.
>>>> 
>>>> Cary
>>>> 
>>>> On Fri, Dec 9, 2011 at 12:34 PM, Doran, Michael D <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>>>> I was hoping to re-use/re-purpose a couple of 1962 Seattle World's
>> Fair
>>> images found on the interwebs [1][2].  Both images were originally
>> created
>>> for souvenir decals.
>>>>> 
>>>>> According to the U.S. Copyright Office's "Copyrights Basics" [3]
>>> section on works originally created and published or registered before
>>> January 1, 1978, "copyright endured for a first term of 28 years from the
>>> date it was secured" -- i.e. for these images, from 1962 to 1990.  It
>> goes
>>> on to say that "During the last (28th) year of the first term, the
>>> copyright was eligible for renewal."  This however, was *not* an
>> automatic
>>> renewal.
>>>>> 
>>>>> So, unless the copyright was explicitly renewed in 1990, the images
>> are
>>> in the public domain.  Since these images were for souvenir decals
>> (rather
>>> than something like a poster), I'm inclined to think the original
>> copyright
>>> owner probably didn't renew the copyright.  However, I don't know who the
>>> original copyright owner is and really have no way of finding out, and
>>> therefore I can't ascertain whether or not the copyright was renewed.
>>>>> 
>>>>> For those with more experience in copyright, any thoughts regarding
>>> situations like this?
>>>>> 
>>>>> I realize this isn't a coding question, but figured I might get some
>>> helpful responses from those of y'all working in archives and various
>>> digital projects where copyright issues regularly come up.
>>>>> 
>>>>> ps  I've eliminated the "Century 21 Exposition" logo in my proposed
>>> reuse, if that matters (on one image, there is a registered trademark
>>> symbol next to the logo).  I'm also not retaining the original "Seattle
>>> World's Fair" text.
>>>>> 
>>>>> -- Michael
>>>>> 
>>>>> [1] http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollywoodplace/6007390480/
>>>>> 
>>>>> [2]
>>> 
>> http://media.photobucket.com/image/seattle%20world%2527s%20fair%20monorail/
>> bananaphone5000/NEWGORILLA/SeattleWFDecal.jpg
>>>>> 
>>>>> [3] http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf
>>>>> 
>>>>> # Michael Doran, Systems Librarian
>>>>> # University of Texas at Arlington
>>>>> # 817-272-5326 office
>>>>> # 817-688-1926 mobile
>>>>> # [log in to unmask]
>>>>> # http://rocky.uta.edu/doran/
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> --
>>>> Cary Gordon
>>>> The Cherry Hill Company
>>>> http://chillco.com
>>>