Discussion:
What is the name of your state? IL
I have a copyrighted picture that I would like to post on the Internet. What are the rules regarding scanning and posting this picture now that the company that took the picture is no longer in business? The picture was taken in 1993 and I believe the company went out of business within a few years. I have searched the copyright registrations and cannot locate the original registration.
Since I can't obtain permission at this point, am I out of luck?
Answer:
What are the rules regarding scanning and posting this picture now that the company that took the picture is no longer in business? The picture was taken in 1993 and I believe the company went out of business within a few years. I have searched the copyright registrations and cannot locate the original registration. The picture is still covered by copyright, even though the company is out of business. Just because there is no copyright registered does not mean that somebody, somewhere doesn't still own the copyright.
Since I can't obtain permission at this point, am I out of luck? Yes, and no. Without permission, you can't legally post the picture. However, if the company is truely out of business, then you have to weigh the risk of being sued for copyright infringement (probably a VERY low risk if the company is out of business and never bothered to register their copyrights anyway).