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Re: Thesis copyright question



Nuns may not have children, but they do have heirs -- other blood relatives;
so unless she made legal arrangements with her order, the courts would
probably look to surviving nieces, nephews, etc. as heirs.  Also, are you
sure she took the photo?.  The copyright belongs to the photographer, not
necessarily to the thesis author.

Catherine Bruck
University Archivist
Illinois Institute of Technology
Paul V. Galvin Library
35 W. 33rd St.
Chicago, IL  60616
312/567-6840
FAX 312/567-5318
bruck@iit.edu


-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU]On
Behalf Of Cynthia Van Ness
Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 1:43 PM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Thesis copyright question


Hi, gang,

This question has to do with copyright.  In the collection of my
library is an unpublished MA thesis from our local university,
written in 1950.  If the author, a nun, is still alive, she
would be about 90.  Her name, assuming it never changed, does
not bring up any exact matches in the US Social Security Death
Index.

The thesis includes 8x10 photographs of a Civil War-vintage
building that is now threatened with a possibly illegal
demolition.  Our local preservation organization is going to
court to prevent the demolition and would like to reprint the
photographs and use them in its lawsuit.

I have already contacted the university alumni office to seek
help finding the author.  My question to the group is: is it
considered fair use to reproduce these photographs for legal
purposes?  The organization still wishes to pursue permission to
reprint through legitimate channels, but it may not be able to
locate the author.  If she is deceased, does her copyright
devolve to her heirs?  Nuns rarely have children.  The
university?  Her order?

Opinions welcome.  Thanks in advance!

=====
"My heart is moved by all I cannot save:
So much has been destroyed
I have to cast my lot with those
who, age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary
power, reconstitute the world."  -Adrienne Rich
   Cynthia Van Ness, bettybarcode@yahoo.com
   http://cynthia.is-online.net

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