What are the laws regarding reprinting of really old documents found behind paywalls?
<p>I love reading old newspapers, so I have a subscription to a <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Newspapers.com</a> and <a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">British Newspaper Archive</a>, while I also get free access to <a href="https://newspaperarchive.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">NewspaperArchive.com</a> through my local library (I just enter my library card number and password and I get it through my home computer). Awhile ago, I took screenshots of an article I found in an old newspaper on Newspapers.com and posted them in a stack exchange (I believe the history stack, but I can't find it anymore). Because the article was behind a paywall, someone edited the question or maybe answer and deleted the screenshots, claiming it was a copyright violation.</p>
<p>Well, I looked up the author of the article and discovered that he died something like 90 years prior. My understanding of the copyright laws is that the copyright expires 70 years AFTER the author's death. So, my understanding is that I can freely copy these articles. So, is this the case? Am I allowed to copy old articles WHOLESALE, virtually anywhere I want to, EVEN if I get the article behind a paywall via a screenshot?</p>

<p>Depending on where exactly you are in the world, there is <em>some</em> protection for the representation of copyright-expired material if work went into presentation. So you might be allowed to put a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bach_cantata" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bach cantata</a> into musical notation yourself, since he died in 1750, but you cannot simply copy another publisher's sheet music to save that work. The same might apply to an old newspaper article. If you find a print and scan it, you can upload it, but you may not be able to take it from the database organized by someone else.</p>
<hr />
<p>In <a href="/questions/tagged/austria" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;austria&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;austria&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="tag-austria-tooltip-container">austria</a>, there is §40f Urheberrecht, which defines databases (they may or may not be collected editions). §40h clarifies how the right to a private copy in §42 extends only to &quot;private use and neither directly nor indirectly commercial purposes.&quot;</p>
<p>In <a href="/questions/tagged/germany" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;germany&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;germany&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="tag-germany-tooltip-container">germany</a>, there is 87a-e UrhG, which covers databases whose assembly did not represent creative work (e.g. by simply ordering things by date). They are protected if the assembly required significant investment. This &quot;lesser protection&quot; lasts only 15 years, not 70, and there is a &quot;a significant part&quot; test for copying less than the whole database.</p>

<h2>Did you break your contract?</h2>
<p>Even though there is no copyright violation, your use of the paywalled site will come with a terms of service. If those prohibit you copying the article then doing so is a contractural breach and would entitle the site’s owner to sue you or, more realistically, ban you.</p>

<p>W.r.t. copyright, I will assume that you correctly determined that copyright in the particular article has expired, therefore you can legally copy and distribute said content without violating copyright law. There is a tiny chance that there are derivative creative add-ons that are still protected (new artwork), but that is unlikely from a newspaper archive.</p>
<p>However, you might be in breach of contract with the archival service. I assume access via Newspaper Archives: <a href="https://newspaperarchive.com/terms/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> is your contract with them. First, they define The Services:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Services includes the software, apps, web interface, and content
offered in connection with the software, documentation, and online
tools, whether they are accessed through the use of a mobile device,
computer, or other method (individually and together, the “Services”).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You agree to pay them money to access The Services. §3 states what your license is and how you can use it, pertinent prohibitions underlined.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Company hereby grants you, subject to your compliance with this
Agreement, a limited non-exclusive, non-sublicensable,
non-transferable, license to use the Services. <em>You may not download
any portion of the Services</em> or use of any Services other than for the
purposes described in this Agreement or an Order Form. <em>You may not
use any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering tools or
otherwise exploit your access to the Services for any commercial
purpose</em>, except as you provide professional genealogical services to
third parties on an individual basis. You may not use any of the
trademarks, logos, or other proprietary graphics without express
written permission, which may denied in Company’s absolute discretion.
Company’s logos and product and service names are trademarks of
Company. All other trademarks appearing on the website or in
connection with the Services are trademarks of their respective
owners, and our reference to them does not imply or indicate any
approval or endorsement by their owners unless such approval or
endorsement is expressly made.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Content is part of Services, but there is also a section on Content, §6, which says</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Our Content belongs solely to us, even when it is in the public
domain. You may use Our Content only for your own personal
non-commercial purposes (except as you provide professional
genealogical services to third parties on an individual basis). You
agree that you will not redistribute or sell any portion of Our
Content or remove any proprietary notices or World Archive branding
from any of Our Content that you download or print.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>On the face of it, you are in breach of contract by copying and distributing the content that they hold. Therefore, you can end up getting sued in Utah courts. After proving that you broke the contract thus you are liable, the company would need to establish what the damages are, that is, how much revenue did they lose from your prohibited action? It might be $10,000 or it might be $1, that's a very fact-intensive determination.</p>

copyright