Making Tappa (native cloth), 1890s (sepia photo)
Image source
Having just cobbled together a banner on behalf of Ross for this new blog of his, I thought I should post a note regarding its origin. The background image (Making Tappa, above) comes from The Bridgeman Art Library, which describes itself as
the world's leading source of fine art with images from over eight thousand collections and twenty nine thousand artists. We represent museums, galleries and artists throughout the world by providing a central source of fine art for image users
Aside from working with the world's museums to provide great images for scholarly use (etc.), there are other reasons for mentioning The Bridgeman Library, namely the ruling (c. 1999) that photographs of images from the public domain are not copyrightable. Referred to affectionately as "Bridgeman", this is considered a landmark ruling for fair use and digital reproduction of images.
See also: Wikipedia entry: Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.
and:
Recent Lessons from the Courts: The Changing Landscape of Copyright in a Digital Age
by Brett I. Miller, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (RLG DigiNews, April 15, 2000, Vol.4, no.2)
excerpt:
To the extent that Bridgeman stands for the broad proposition that no copyright interest can be claimed in a digital reproduction of a two-dimensional public domain work of art, the case unquestionably undercuts one of the most important weapons available to institutions to police the unauthorized copying and distribution of digital image collections. However, the Bridgeman holding concerns only reproductions of two-dimensional works in the public domain. This leaves reproductions of three-dimensional objects - which arguably involve a greater degree of "originality" by virtue of the selection of backdrop, lighting, perspective and other creative choices involved in their creation - still subject to copyright. Moreover, Bridgeman does nothing to impact or undermine the separate and independent copyright interest that institutions may have in digital image collections as "compilations." Compilations are works formed by the collection and assembling of pre-existing elements that, standing alone, may not be subject to copyright protection. Accordingly, although Bridgeman may affect an institution's ability to claim copyright in reproductions of particular images, the case does not undermine the copyright interest an institution may have in the selection, arrangement and coordination of the particular elements comprising a given digital image collection.
Furthermore:
While Bridgeman represents the first judicial pronouncement on whether a digital reproduction of a two-dimensional public domain work of art is sufficiently original for copyright protection as a threshold matter, a case decided in December of last year, Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corp., provides critical insight into how the fair use doctrine will be applied in the digital context. The fair use doctrine is arguably the most important limitation on the rights granted to copyright owners. Fair use is a defensive claim that serves to protect third parties from liability for conduct that may otherwise constitute actionable infringement. The current federal copyright statute codifies this equitable doctrine by providing, in relevant part, that "the fair use of a copyrighted work . . . for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching . . . scholarship, or research is not an infringement . . ." [read on...]