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New York World-Telegram & Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection

Rights and Restrictions Information

Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 20540-4730


Publication and other forms of distribution: The collection includes original and copy photographs, artwork, and prints, created prior to 1968. The majority of the photographs were gathered from diverse sources including wire services, commercial photo studios, publicity photo distributors, and amateur photographers. Copyright for each item is determined by guidelines on the duration of copyright; see: Copyright and Other Restrictions That Apply to Publication/Distribution of Images: Assessing the Risk of Using a P&P Image - How Long Copyrights Last. Privacy and publicity rights may also apply. In general, items in the collection fall into one of the following categories:

  1. Wire service, professional photographer, studio, publicity, or other photographs and original artwork from commercial sources - The commercial status of these images can be recognized by the appearance of the name of a wire service, a photographer, or a studio on the image, (e.g., ACME, Lotte Jacobi, Columbia Pictures.) More information on specific wire services is available for Associated Press/Wide World, Black Star, United Press International, ACME, and other company names. As the Division learns of photographers' current addresses, that information is added under the name of the photographer (see the Rights and Restrictions Information page).
  2. Images by unidentified creators and images from unidentified sources are problematic because of the lack of information. To show that a reasonable effort was made to determine copyright status, one might request a copyright search and retain any reply received.
  3. NYWT&S staff photographs are in the public domain per the instrument of gift. These photos can be recognized by such stamps as "World-Telegram photo" or "World-Telegram photo by Ed Palumbo."
  4. U.S. Government-issued photographs - Works created by officers and employees of the United States Government are not eligible for copyright protection within the United States. 17 U.S.C. § 105. For more information about U.S. government works and copyright, see: https://www.usa.gov/government-works.
  5. Original artwork and prints - For works published or registered for copyright 95 years ago or less or for unpublished works, rights may be held by the creator, creator's heirs, the publisher, or others.

Access: Subject to P&P policy on serving originals. Five working days may be needed to retrieve material from off-site storage.

Reproduction (photocopying, hand-held camera copying, photoduplication and other forms of copying allowed by "fair use"): Subject to P&P policy on copying.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, NYWT&S Collection, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ62-90145]

For more information, please read: Copyright and Other Restrictions That Apply to Publication/Distribution of Images: Assessing the Risk of Using a P&P Image


Prepared by: Prints and Photographs Division staff. Revised: Oct. 2007; March 2019


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  March 25, 2022
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