Kathy’s Corner » Copyright & Materials Acquired From Others » June 2025

As Projectkin, we’re hooked on family history stories. So often, these stories start with the artifacts, documents, and photographs left for us by our ancestors. In Kathy’s Corner, Projectkin contributor Kathy Stone, helps us sort through and make sense of these materials with insights learned in her decades of experience as a professional photo organizer. Explore our calendar for coming events here.If this was shared with you, why not join our free community? Learn more at Projectkin.org/about.Today, Kathy dove into some of the most basic challenges of our artifact collections: acquiring the photos and using the ones in our possession. We may own the physical prints or digital files, but do we have the copyright? If we don’t know who does, how do we get permission? Today’s episode builds on a tip for Mission: Genealogy, by Deborah Carl“Copyright and Images.” (You’ll find a long list of resources in that post and more tips in this series at MissionGenealogy.org/tips).During her talk, Kathy Stone referenced numerous external articles and legal summaries, including: Copyright Laws by Country* United Kingdom — legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/contents* Canada — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-42/Index.html* United States — copyright.gov/title17* New Zealand — legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1994/0143/latest/DLM345634.html* Australia — legislation.gov.au/C1968A00063/2019-01-01/textElectronic Frontier Foundation: Advocacy* Fair Use Topics — eff.org/issues/intellectual-property* “The Public Domain Is the Rule, Copyright Is the Exception” — eff.org/deeplinks/2020/01/public-domain-rule-copyright-exceptionOrganizingPhotos.Net* “Can I Scan that Photo – Legally? Understanding Copyright and Fair Use” by Jackie Jade — Organizingphotos.net/scan-photo-legally-copyright-fair-useThe Legal Genealogist on Copyright * LegalGenealogist.com/category/copyright* “Copyright and the old family photo” — LegalGenealogist.com/2012/03/06/copyright-and-the-old-family-photo * “Copyright and the genealogy lecture” — bit.ly/4loa578Open Media* “The Shrӧdigner’s cat of copyright: What is an ‘orphan work’”— bit.ly/4kWQr2bWilders & Co, Content Management Systems* “Who Cares About Copyright Infringement Laws” by Regan Wilders — linkedin.com/pulse/who-cares-copyright-infringement-laws-regan-wildersLangara College Library* “Copyright for Photography” — langara.libguides.com/copyright-for-photography/canada Get full access to Projectkin at projectkin.substack.com/subscribe