How can an archive claim copyright on very old documents under English law?
<p>A publicly-funded archive in England provides a service to allow members of the public to copy, with a copier on site and for a nominal fee, documents. The documents are very old, so that any person involved in their creation died long ago, and their copyright would normally have expired. The archive stamps the new copied document "Copyright retained by owner of original document", with the implication that the original document is on loan to the archive and this stamp is a requirement of the loan conditions.</p>

<p>Creation of the new paper copy by pressing a button on the copier involves no significant creative input. How can either the archive, or the original document owner, claim any copyright, either on the original document or the new paper copy?</p>

<p>You are reading more into this than it says:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Copyright retained by owner of original document</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This simply, means that by giving you a copy they are not transferring ownership of the copyright. That is, if copyright exists, then you don't get it and neither do they claim ownership of it: it stays with whoever owns the copyright.</p>

<p>If copyright has expired then the stamp has no meaning at all. Also, you say "The documents are very old, so that any person involved in their creation died long ago, and their copyright would normally have expired." - be careful, copyright lasts a <em>long</em> time after death - 70 years in the UK. If the person was alive in 1947 the copyright is still in force.</p>

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