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Statue of Limitations
Seven years ago, the U-S issued a stamp honoring Korean War Veterans that showed their memorial in Washington. But the sculptor, Frank Gaylord, claims he never granted the Postal Service permission to use his work. Even though the federal government paid him 775-thousand dollars for the statues, he apparently never signed over the copyright. Gaylord's suit says he should get 10 percent of the 17 million dollars in stamp sales. The Postal Service says the memorial is a work commissioned by the government and built with public money. The courts have gone back and forth on this one, and it may be appealed to the Supreme Court. Ever since the Postal Service got stung in 1980 and had to pay thousands of dollars in licensing fees for a W-C Fields stamp, it's been VERY careful about copyrights. It has attorneys who research this. Designs have been changed and entire issues dumped because of rights hassles. So if the Postal Service can't figure out this sort of thing, who can? What does that say about stamp collecting accessories like albums and catalogues? Or all the picture postcards of the Korean War Veterans Memorial and other public statues and buildings? I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamps collecting, visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com. ---------------------------------------------------------- Go to Previous Report Go to Next Report Go to Report Index |
