Museums and Copyrights

[Iagoba]

I remember having a quite strange experience in the Karlsruhe museum, being allowed to photograph (without flash, of course) all pieces of that small "British museum" (great ancient mediterranean -Greek, Roman, Egyptian- stuff) and not being allowed to photograph a REPLICA roman dice tower on loan


And the same for VIth century Bizantium´s "Hipodrome" ball race game. :x

[Jona Lendering]

not being allowed to photograph a REPLICA roman dice tower on loan

Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.

[M. Demetrius]

Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.

"It's a lucky [man] who is able to know the cause of things"?
Is that close?

[Eleatic Guest]

not being allowed to photograph a REPLICA roman dice tower on loan

Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.

Absolutely, you wouldnt believe it but yesterday, passing the museum in Heidelberg, I saw from the outside a man bending over some furniture makng pics with flash - under the approving look of the group guide!

[Tarbicus]

British Museum has no problems with photos or flash, except for the likes of the Hadrian exhibition where loaned pieces seem to carry their own restrictions.

Do they allow taking pics only for private purposes, or also for commercial ones?

As far as I'm aware, it's open doors to all and sundry, except the special exhibitions that have cost them a fortune, and contain lots of loan exhibits. But it'd be crass not to make a donation on your way out if you make a lot of cash from it :wink:

Go to their website and check.

[Jona Lendering]

Go to their website and check.

No photographing on the Hadrian Exhibition.

[Eleatic Guest]

But it'd be crass not to make a donation on your way out if you make a lot of cash from it :wink:

My philosophy, too. But I was asking only because all imaged uploaded at Wikipedia are free for commercial purposes.

[Jona Lendering]

So far, we have been discussing museums that do not allow visitors to take photos, claiming that there can be copyright on objects that were made two millenniums ago. We are not the only ones who are surprised about this obstruction of the cause of research, and Roger Pearse (webmaster of the the Tertullian Project) has created a satirical prize for institutions that make it difficult to study things: the Bloodsucker Award. The John Rylands Library in Manchester is the first winner of the prestigeous new award. :twisted:

[jvrjenivs]

Laudes for Roger Pearse. We need such awards for museums too!