Postal « 360Photography

RSS

Posts Tagged ‘Postal’

US Postal Service ordered to pay $3.5m after using photo of Statue of Liberty replica

07 Jul

Robert Davidson’s replica Statue of Liberty sculpture in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by ADTeasdale, used under CC license 2.0.

The US Postal Service has been ordered to pay $ 3.5 million to sculptor Robert Davidson after a mixup resulted in the issuance of a Forever Stamp featuring the wrong Statue of Liberty. According to the lawsuit, USPS issued a new Forever Stamp design in December 2010 that features the Liberty Statue replica in Las Vegas created by Davidson rather than the original statue in New York.

The lawsuit explains that an official with the Postal Service began work on creating a new Forever Stamp design by acquiring stock images of the Liberty Statue. Options were narrowed down to three images, two featuring the original statue and one featuring the replica, though officials were unaware of the difference.

PhotoAssist was utilized to acquire digital files of the three final images, and the image of the replica statue was ultimately selected for the stamp design. USPS acquired a license to use the image from Getty Images for $ 1,500. Unaware that it was an image of the replica, the Postal Service failed to get Davidson’s permission or to attribute the work to him.

Davidson became aware of the issue after his wife purchased a book of stamps featuring the new design

Another stock photo agency informed USPS in March 2011 that its Forever Stamp featured an image of the replica statue rather than the original work. According to the lawsuit, the revelation started an internal evaluation at USPS as it determined how to respond. The Forever Stamp design remained in use until it was phased out in 2014.

Davidson became aware of the issue after his wife purchased a book of stamps featuring the new design. A copyright application for the replica statue was filed in January 2012 and issued in November 2013. That same month, Davidson sued USPS for its use of the image.

Though the government argued that the replica was too similar to the original to warrant protection, the court sided with Davidson, finding his statue was sufficiently original enough for copyright protections. The court stated:

We are satisfied that plaintiff succeeded in making the statue his own creation, particularly the face. A comparison of the two faces unmistakably shows that they are different. Although the record does not contain many pictures of the original, the magazine cover provided by plaintiff which bears a picture of the original Statue of Liberty’s face is sufficient. The differences are plainly visually observable, can be articulated, and are not merely “ideas.” … Mr. Davidson’s statue, although invoking an existing world-famous statue, is an original, creative work, and as such is the subject of a valid copyright registration.

The Postal Service sold 4.9 billion stamps, bringing in $ 2.1 billion in revenue and more than $ 70 million in profits. In its ruling, the court determined that Davidson is owed $ 3,554,946.95 in actual damages for the unauthorized use. USPS has not issued a statement on the ruling.

Via: NPR

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Going Postal: 12 Stamped Out & Abandoned Post Offices

19 Feb

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

Since the only thing rapid about “snail mail” is the speed it’s fading into disuse, no one should be surprised at the growing number of abandoned post offices. These once-proud centers of commerce and communication are, one by one, following video rental stores and record shops into irrelevance and extinction.

United States Post Office – Gary, Indiana, USA

abandoned Gary Indiana post office (images via: American Urbex and RickDrew)

Like the 800-pound gorilla in the room, we need to get the enormous abandoned Gary Post Office out of the way… something the (remaining) residents of Gary would love to do in actuality. Opened in 1936 as a milestone of FDR’s New Deal construction program, this rambling wreck closed in the 1970s and is now a millstone around the long-suffering city’s neck.

abandoned Gary Indiana post office (image via: RickDrew)

Located at 601 Massachusetts St. at Sixth, this awesome Art Deco colossus was designed by architect Howard Lovewell Cheney. The building boasts a marble base marred by graffiti and the partial loss of its roof has allowed decay to rapidly accelerate inside. At least the trees have more light now.

Post Office – Glenrio, Texas/New Mexico, USA

abandoned post office Glenrio Texas (images via: JuneNY)

The unincorporated community of Glenrio sits astride the Texas – New Mexico state line with the now-closed post office on the New Mexico side. Built in 1935 when bustling Route 66 was funneling Dust Bowl refugees westward, the post office’s fortunes faded fast after September 1973 when I-40 bypassed the community to the north. Thanks go out to Flickr user JuneNY for documenting Glenrio’s long-shuttered post office as well as other features of the National Register of Historic Places-listed historic district.

Post Office – Kelso, California, USA

Kelso California abandoned post office (images via: l_c_m_tt_ and Drycyclist.com)

The Mojave Desert ghost town of Kelso regained some life in 2005 when the circa-1923 restored Kelso Railroad Depot re-opened as the Mojave National Reserve’s visitor center. This explains why the street separating the Depot and the Kelso Post Office is in a reasonable state of repair sporting freshly painted lines.

Kelso California abandoned post office (image via: Wikipedia)

A popular subject for photographers both amateur and professional, the Kelso Post Office closed in 1962 and looks as weatherbeaten as a half-century in the high desert would lead one to expect. This image, courtesy of Pierre Camateros, shows the warts-and-all rugged beauty of the structure, which still proudly displays Kelso’s original 90920 zip code.