Seth:
The following is taken DIRECTLY from the Library of Congress, Copyright Office web site. I think this will answer your question and further explain some of what I touched on in my original post (above).
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Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.
In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not the employee is considered to be the author. Section 101 of the copyright law defines a "work made for hire" as:
(1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or
(2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as:
a contribution to a collective work
a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
a translation
a supplementary work
a compilation
an instructional text
a test
answer material for a test
an atlas
if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire....
The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.
Copyright in each separate contribution to a periodical or other collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole and vests initially with the author of the contribution.
Two General Principles
Mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, or any other copy or phonorecord does not give the possessor the copyright. The law provides that transfer of ownership of any material object that embodies a protected work does not of itself convey any rights in the copyright.
Minors may claim copyright, but state laws may regulate the business dealings involving copyrights owned by minors. For information on relevant state laws, consult an attorney.
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To clarify your question about pictures in a catalog and the graphic designer angle.
The person that is requesting the creation of the catalog (lets say you, in this example) should have received permission for EVERY image used in the catalog (photographs of items from various suppliers, original artwork, etc.). Since you are paying the graphic designer/graphic design company to create the catalog for you, any art they create for the catalog and the text, layout, etc. is generally viewed as belonging to you (i.e. "Work made for hire"). You paid for it to be created and you are the only person that will be using it.
If the graphic designer or design company used an image that was not cleared and authorized for publication, you would be the one named in a law suite - not the designers.
As a further example. You can purchase the rights to use an image 'exclusively' or for a certain amount of reproductions. GM for example, provides images out of the GM Media Archives for use in publications. GM charges a fee based on the amount of copies that will be printed. More copies - more $$'s. Further, GM has numerous ad agencies that create ads, printed materials, etc. All of these commercials, brochures, printed ads, etc. are the property of General Motors - not the agency that created it. This is spelled out in the contracts GM awards to the agencies so there is no question on copyright ownership.
Later . . .
Jim
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http://www.vintage-logos.com [This message has been edited by T-way (edited 05-27-2004).]
