User:Ww2censor/Sandbox2

Russian stamps arguments

This issue is rather more complex than people imagine. Any negative decision on this will affect much more than just {{PD-RU-exempt}} stamps because the issue is really about the images in the stamps which could be claimed are in still copyright. The essence is not whether {{PD-RU-exempt}} is a valid tag for the commons but whether any stamp images that we host could contain copyright images even though the stamps themselves are freely licensed.

First, let's consider the stamp design process. Stamps are generally produced by postal department of governments,, or independent or semi-state organisations charged with producing stamps of the purpose of showing that fees have been paid for mail. Some sort of advisory board or committee make recommendation for a topic which then may suggest an artist for the job, or initially for essays for consideration from the stamp may then be made. In general. because of the small size of stamps, few stamps are exact reproductions of existing artworks but are interpretations of the original design. So who is the copyright owner for such commissioned work? In most instances we don't know the details but some sort of contractual relationship exists and no doubt payment is involved and copyright may or may not have been part of the contract. But we do know that some countries

The designers, as determined by the individual county law, may retain the copyright. Some countries, such as France, it is clear that their stamps are the copyright of the designers and engravers and only become freely licensed 70 years pma of the last survivor.

It could affect stamps of many other countries whose copyright terms are less than 70 years old, such as US stamps between 1945 and 1978, all the successor-states of the USSR that still use the same copyright laws, all UK stamps {{PD-UKGov}} and those its colonies and territories and many others whose official works term is less than 70 years, such as {{PD-IrishGov}} (50 years) and {{PD-BrazilGov}} (currently 33 years) unless the general copyright term is different as in Europe it is 70 years pma. The current known and acceptable copyright periods are listed at: stamp country details and Commons:Stamps/Public domain templates.

The essence of this discussion is whether stamps may contain copyright images that would make extraction a copyright violation.

It is clear that Russian stamps have no copyright and extracting an image from such a stamps is not permitted in Russian law. Up to now, except fo a few instances, such stamps have been accepted as allowable but the deletionists feel this is against our non-derivative policy. I feel this is essentially similar to the "de minimis" principal, whereby an image that contains an alleged copyright image, when cropped is not allowed, so too a Russian stamp in its entirety is allowable but extracting just the image is not allowable; that's the Russian law. Obviously, stamps more than 70 years old should be ok, but

Mauritius "Post Office" stamps

Number	Image	Denomination	Details
I
II
III
VI
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI

Links

• Helen Morgan's stamps details
• Classic Stamps of Mauritius
• 1912 Paris forgeries
• Raman microscopy of Mauritius stamps
• Printing plate (Feldman)
• distinguishing the fakes from the originals

• GSM report of "The Blue Mauritius" Berlin exhibition showing the Mauritius Postal Museum pair
• 3 covers & Berlin 2d blue at Meeting of the Queens in Berlin
• Swedish pair
• Netherlands 2d blue
• Berlin 2d blue & this page
• British Library 1d red on cover & here
• British Library 2d blue unused
• British Library 1d & 2d reprinted die proofs in black
• Joseph Barnard's estimate
• 2d blue ex Chartwell collection sold by Spinks & Stamps magazine report
• close up of Bordeaux cover pair & Georeg V 2d blue
• George V 1d red on cover & 2d unused
• Feldman's article with a 1d red & 2d blue