Quote Originally Posted by Redrobes View Post
No. If the charts are from 15 years ago then they are in copyright to someone unless that person has expressly discharged their rights to the copyright. Your copyright in that matter would reach only as far as the composition and framing of the photo. But the chart itself is someone elses. Even taking the photo of them is a technical breech. Again thats another dumb rule. People have been harassed for taking photos within cities because for some of the buildings the architect has claimed copyright over the style of the building. If you ask me thats copyright pollution ! You could claim that the street lamp style, the paint on the road and everything that a person made within the city is copyright. There are so many dumb claims and dumb rulings over copyright that basically its all gone to the dogs and many poeple have just thrown the towel in on it all and started ripping everything off. Theres no respect on either side of this fence any more. But never forget that you can get sued for anything. You may be right, and you may win, but the legal process in itself *is* the penalty.
Thanks! good points! What I actually mean, is would I be allowed to publish it without getting into trouble? I don't need to 'own' the map. I'm happy to refer to the creator and state 'adapted from...'