Discussion:
What is the name of your state?California
I have postcards with postmarks dating from 1904-1924 with the names of the company on the backs of some. I don't see any "c" (copyright symbol)
anywhere. I want to use them in a video I plan to sell. Are they in public domain? My research shows that one of the companies had a fire in the 1950's and is no longer in operation. There are a couple of French postcards postmarked 1906. Is foreign property a whole different animal? Also, when I copyright my video, would I get a derivative copyright? Thanks.
Answer:
Are they in public domain? The ones printed before 1923 certainly are. If the ones printed in 1923 or 1924 do not have a copyright notice, then they are also in the public domain.
y research shows that one of the companies had a fire in the 1950's and is no longer in operation. Just a note, since the cards are in the public domain, this is irrelevant -- but it would be irrelevant anyway -- just because a company goes out of business doesn't mean that the copyrights go away. There may not be anyone around to enforce them, but the copyrights are still there...
There are a couple of French postcards postmarked 1906. Is foreign property a whole different animal? Yes, there are different rules for works originally published outside of the U.S. I don't have the terms for works originally published outside of the U.S., I want to say that only works originally published outside of the U.S. prior to 1890 are in the public domain for certain. However, from a practical standpoint, the card is very likely to be public domain, and besides, the likelihood that anyone would bother to enforce a copyright (if any exists) 100 years later in a different country seems very remote...
lso, when I copyright my video, would I get a derivative copyright? You would get a copyright on your video. You would not be able to obtain copyright protection on any of the public-domain works that you use in your video, so someone could still use those works in their own video -- but your video would be protected by copyright.