While many of us have contributed funds, FriscoCharlie has been the one on the point for acquiring slides, so In this instance, I think he does. Paul
It is remarkable that perhaps the owners of these images, that don't care who sees them, or they would not have sold them in the first place, no matter how many layers this goes back. Whether in or out of print, even if they are deceased, and still the system of litigation, will ensure no one sees them forever in print. We all should simply burn our images as soon as we take them I guess, or at least have our hand out wanting to be paid. I, myself took pictures because I wanted folks to just see them, didn't care if I got a nickel for any of them. All too often the people that took these images are now gone, and that very fact makes these images taken in some cases 37+ years ago, not available for print or viewing? Seems to me there is more of a crime for these images not to be seen at all, than the crime of printing these images without the heritage "a due's". I guess what we have here are image "pimps" that are trying to protect a few $$, and nothing more. But that's just opinion, so sue me. This kind of road block is just not right. If a person makes a reasonable effort to ascertain the owner and no one comes FWD, that should be enough. I hope this doesn't derail the whole project.
My thoughts exactly Tom. I have shared a lot of pics on various sites over the years. For me especially truck photos. I always enjoy seeing a new picture from someone and always hoped someone else got that pleasure from seeing mine. Too bad this is what it has come to these days.
Okay, here's the deal, and this is pretty much where it begins and ends. I received this note (below) from the publisher, whose name you should all recognize. Please do not contact him directly citing arguments such as the ones above, as he is in the business of publishing books and has no wish to have any number of people showing up on his doorstep demanding money or free copies of the book or suing for copyright infringement, no matter how remote that may seem, because their image appeared in print without their permission. So, if we cannot address his concerns, there will be no book and I will have wasted quite a bit of my time and that of others who helped along the way. I understand his issue and agree completely that he (and I) need to be sheltered from liability. I thought I had resolved that problem earlier when I listed all the known contributors and asked if there were any objections, but that is evidently not enough. Bob Yanosey <morningsunbooks@comcast.net> Today at 8:50 PM To: Gregory Stout Message body I need something in writing from an officer of the society other than you.
I want to ask: If a Slide or Photo has NO identifying caption or name on it. How can someone come along and say that the rights belong to them? Wouldn't they have to have some kind of proof other than just their say-so?
Doesn't matter, and it's more than likely that with an image like that it's a duplicate. In any event, most of what I have does have someone's name on it. I would say we're screwed. GS
No, it did not. In all the other cases, the photos either originated from the publisher's own collection, or from me, or individuals who were known to one or both of us. In this instance, we just cannot identify the holders of the rights to the images to obtain permission. I was hoping it wouldn't be an issue since they mostly all came from the Archives collection, but since we do not have anyone who officially speaks for the Archives or the group itself we appear to be out of options. GS
Greg, I think we do have someone who can speak for the archives, and that would be FriscoCharlie. He's the one who runs the website currently, including the Archives, and he's the one behind obtaining the photos for the group. I'm somewhat surprised he hasn't responded to this. Perhaps you should send him a private message. Paul
