Using Celebrity Photos in Educational Module

Subject: Using Celebrity Photos in Educational Module
From: "Elizabeth J. Pyatt" <ejp10@xxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 12:11:17 -0500
Hello:

I have a copyright question about using celebrity photos in an educational module, I'm hoping someone can clear up.

Our university has a service where you can download educational modules free for non-commercial use, but of course we want everything to be legal.

The module I'm currently working one is about famous African-American musicians and composers. The origininal in-house module has photos, but does not document sources (this version is housed in a password protected site).

But now I'm trying to find alternate images if I can. In one case, I found a lovely photo of Patti Labelle taken by NASA at a NASA event. What are the rules for this kind of situation? I know federal government usually means public domain, but what about celebrities?

Another question is if I can use older Library of Congress photos of artists like Billie Holliday or Duke Ellington without prior consent

Any insights would be appreciated.

Thanks

Elizabeth Pyatt

P.S. A second question is that if I find a digital photo where the original dates from 1911, has it entered "public domain" enough so that it can be safely used without prior consent?
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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Elizabeth J. Pyatt, Ph.D.
Instructional Designer
Education Technology Services, TLT/ITS
Penn State University
ejp10@xxxxxxx, (814) 865-0805 or (814) 865-2030 (Main Office)


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