The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I am putting together a collection of Victor Talking Machines for a 6 week loan to a local museum.

I was asked to put together a logo to advertise the display for their website and newsletter.

I used the image from an antique Victor post card, and modified it for my use.

The Question I have is: Am I going to get into trouble for "copyright infringement"?

Bob S.

The problem with discussing copyright is that rules that seem to be black and white are actually fairly grey, and the rules also vary widely from place to place.

In this non-lawyer's non-legal opinion, assuming you're in the USA, you appear to be OK from a copyright point of view because what you used is almost certainly pre-1923, which is the public domain cutoff (in the USA only) for everything except unpublished works and sound recordings.

Having said that, you could possibly have an issue with trademark infringement, since the dog-and-phonograph image is likely technically still in use. The odds of actual trouble are probably very small. Best to have a quick chat with an experienced lawyer.

My other suggestion is to get some kind of insurance on what you're lending, or at least make sure the institution you're lending these to has insurance to cover these. There are many stories in the collecting hobbies about loans going bad...

setting aside the subject of permissible commerical use (of things in the public domain, etc.), there shouldn't be any issues if this is just being used for educational purposes, as in non-commercial, non-profit-oriented... and a museum display/exhibit, regardless of whether the museum collects entry fees, should qualify as such.

To reiterate what the man said above: As long as you're not makin' a buck off of it, they SHOULD BE flattered.......