Long Time, No See

Can students use photos from ads that appeared in old yearbooks?

By Carrie Russell -- School Library Journal, 11/1/2005

Our library has old yearbooks, dating back to the ’30s, that include ads from local stores that are now out of business. Our students would like to use some of the ad photos for a history project. Whom should we contact about getting copyright permission?

Marcia Dow, librarian, Thomas A. Edison Junior-Senior High School, Lake Station, IN

In order to gain copyright protection, copyright holders were required by law to place a copyright notice on works published between 1923 and 1977. Take a careful look at your yearbooks. Do they have a copyright symbol or the word “copyright” and a year? If they don’t, they’re now in the public domain and you’re free to use them. If you discover that the works are protected, check to see who is listed as the copyright holder. It’s possible that the ads and photographs are protected separately from the yearbook. Again, look for the copyright symbol and see who is claiming ownership. If the same photographer took all of the pictures, he may be listed in a book’s credits or acknowledgements. It’s also possible that the businesses transferred their copyright to the school as a condition for running their ads in the yearbook. It’s also more than likely that when these books were created no one was even thinking about copyright!

Is the use of the photos by the history class a fair use? Since the students are using the images to complete an assignment and their work won’t be distributed outside of the class, there is a good argument for fair use. Therefore, it’s not necessary to seek permission.

Are we allowed to install a CD-ROM game onto more than one of our library’s computers? Also, can we circulate a downloaded CD-ROM? Or would that violate copyright law since more than one child could play the game at the same time?

Elise Pincu, youth services librarian, Boca Raton (FL) Public Library

I am going to assume that the games were sold with an accompanying license agreement. Software is often licensed to users with specific conditions on use. The license agreement may have been included in the packaging of the CD-ROM game or it may appear as a “click-on” agreement when you load the game onto a computer. The license agreement will tell you how many copies of the program can be downloaded—most likely, only one. The license may also include terms regarding the circulation or lending of the game.

If the game was purchased without a license agreement, then copyright law would come into play. Making multiple copies of a work is a copyright infringement. You should buy a separate copy for each computer on which you want to install it.

The first-sale doctrine—Section 109 of the law, which allows owners of lawfully acquired copies the right to lend their copies—applies to computer programs for nonprofit libraries, including public libraries. However, libraries are required to include a copyright warning on their programs. The precise wording of the notice is specified in the Federal Code of Regulations 201.24, and the warning must be included on any software programs that are circulated. The federal code also stipulates how the notice should be displayed on a program’s packaging. The warning makes it clear to patrons that there are restrictions on making copies of the software.

I assume the suppliers that I order videos from know they will be shown in class. However, if a teacher or student brings a video to school for educational purposes, can it be shown without breaking any copyright laws?

Lisa Day, media coordinator, Oakwood Elementary School, Yanceyville, NC

It doesn’t matter if video publishers know how their products will be used, because the law provides a public performance exemption for videos shown in the face-to-face classroom for teaching purposes (Section 110[1]). Any video that is lawfully acquired by a school, teacher, or student (even one that’s rented from Blockbuster) can be shown in the classroom because of this important statutory exemption.

Author Information

Carrie Russell is the American Library Association’s copyright specialist. She will answer selected questions from readers. Send questions to slj@reedbusiness.com, with “copyright” in the subject line. Be sure to include your title and the name of your school or public library. Note: Carrie’s comments are not to be considered legal advice.

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