So, whither the public trust? Looks like the Smithsonian Images is running a little copyright scam. The SI should be on par with the Library of Congress and the National Archives with materials available for public use, but Public.Resources.Org is claiming that more than a few of their images are locked away behind ambiguous claims to copyright protection. Check out the blurb on DCist.
The copyright notice provides that images can be used for educational ventures by students and teachers, but not for profit. Additionally, the fee schedule for high resolution digital copies seems unusually high ($50 for 300 dpi on a CD, $100 via FTP, and $200 for 600 dpi via FTP) in comparison with the Library of Congress ($22 for 300 dpi on a CD).
I know, I read that too. I don’t know how long they have been doing this, but it does make me wonder if it’s wrapped up in the SI Business Ventures office whose Director just resigned.
[…] after I read Sharon’s post on the Smithsonian Images site and copyright, I stumbled across this Flickr collection of over 6,000 […]