What are the copyright concerns when making digital photographs of objects or artwork?
If a museum employee takes a photograph of something, then they have made a copy of it. If the museum
puts it on the Internet, then they have distributed it. Both activities are exclusive rights of the copyright
holder. (U.S. Copyright Oce 1992) However, before declaring the museum guilty of infringement, consider
the whole situation. Is the object in the photograph original enough to qualify for copyright protection?
Everyday objects such as tools, blankets, furniture, and so forth do not. Next, does the museum own the
copyright, or partial copyright, in the artwork? Often when items are acquired by a museum or archive, a
transfer of copyright takes place as well. The museum may hold complete copyright. If not, it may still hold
the right to take photographs for museum publicity, or for research purposes, and so forth. (Minow 2002a)