Massachusetts | Intellectual Property
Legal Question
Permission Needed If Before 1923?
As a hobby, I'm creating craft-type jewelry I would like to sell, and I would like to incorporate photos of stained glass windows from churches built before 1923. Even though we are taught the definition of a church is its people, I don't think churches naturally fall under public domain as do government buildings, for example - - do they? Is it ok to use illustrations of stained glass from a book published before 1923 or do I still need to get permission from the church where the stained glass windows resides? Are photos of stained glass from churches built before 1923 considered public domain for the person who actually takes the photo today? Even though the window and/or Church building were in place before 1923 - - does that photo taken today belong to the Church, whereby permission would be needed in order to use parts of that photo for commercial use - - in my case, as part of a jewelry design? In other words, can the photographer use part of that photo to create a piece of jewelry? Does using all or part of the photo make a difference? In using that photo for the jewelry design, whether part or all, does it make a difference if it is predominant in the design of the jewelry or not? THANK YOU!
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