Expert: Don Wood - 5/31/2006

Question
I have a wealth of photos my grandfather took over 50yrs ago,
upon his death i was given them. what are the limitations on using
these commercially as they are beautiful and very high quality. For
a photo taken in 1953 do I still need to obtain the model's release.
Thank you.

Answer
You may want to consult a lawyer friend on this one. Generally any photos taken of people are the intellectual property of the cameraman. However, if you make a profit from the sale of pictures depicting people doing something, then that person should be compensated in some way and a model release made. I can't conceive of someone's pictures in the 50's being of commercial value. You should have no trouble getting them reproduced. They may be of value to you or your family members for the family history which the picture shows. A lot will depend upon the recognizability of the subject depicted. Also upon the subject, ie, a nude image might be objected to by the person. Similarly, an image showing a crime would be objected to. You see the dilemma. You can find the answer to this in the library. Or you could google for the phrase intellectual property. I'm sure that you could find the statute of limitations somewhere in your search. My gut says that it's probably all right. I would be interested in your posting of the answer you find. Thanks for asking.
Don