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International News Photos

Rights and Restrictions Information

Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 20540-4730


Publication and other forms of distribution: May be restricted. International News Photos was subsumed by United Press International (UPI). The UPI archives, including International News Photos images, was bought by CORBIS, which controlled the copying of UPI/International News Photos images physically housed in its archives in New York City. In 2016, CORBIS was, in turn, sold to Visual China Group (VCG), which arranged to have Getty Images be the exclusive distributor of CORBIS images outside of China.

Neither VCG nor Getty Images controls the copying of International News Photos images housed in the Library of Congress. However, any copyright held by UPI that is still current would now be owned by VCG, administered by Getty Images. Getty Images can be contacted at: http://www.gettyimages.com/customer-support

In an attempt to determine if International News Photos registered any copyrights and if those copyrights were renewed, Specialists in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress searched the Copyright Office files. It was found that only a few images were registered for copyright and those copyrights were not renewed. However, the Library’s legal office has advised the Division that photographs published with proper copyright notices 95 years ago or less up until 1963 may be protected if the copyright was properly renewed, while works published after 1963 and unpublished photographs in the collection may be protected even if they were not registered with the Copyright Office. (For a summary of copyright terms, see: Copyright and Other Restrictions That Apply to Publication/Distribution of Images: Assessing the Risk of Using a P&P Image - How Long Copyrights Last.)

Additionally, researchers should be advised that determining the copyright status of photographs can be problematic because of the lack of pertinent information, and researchers often have to make calculated risk decisions concerning the appropriate use of an image when its copyright status is unknown or ambiguous. Privacy and publicity rights may also apply.

Access: Subject to P&P policy on serving originals.

Reproduction (photocopying, hand-held camera copying, photoduplication and other forms of copying allowed by "fair use"): Subject to P&P policy on copying.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [Reproduction number e.g., LC-USZ62-123456].

For more information, please read: Copyright and Other Restrictions That Apply to Publication/Distribution of Images: Assessing the Risk of Using a P&P Image


Prepared by: Prints and Photographs Division staff. Revised: Sept. 2017; April 2019.


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  March 25, 2022
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