You have a copyright on the image, unquestionable. However, you may still be liable for use of that image under either common law or statutory law, or both. That is why you often see printed images of documents with names "blurred" or whited out. Potential liability for the use of that image goes beyond copyright infringement and may extend to privacy, defamation, or other issues (far too many variables to go into here). Much depends on how the image is used: whether individuals can be identified through use of the image, how others are characterized or described in the context of the document presented in the image, whether you can be perceived as having malicious intent (whether actual or borne of negligence), etc.
In another thread (http://stamporama.com/discboard/disc_main.php?action=60&id=11692) or two, we discussed copyright issues and their relation to printed material as well as to non-published material (ie, letters). It seemed to me we were discussing expression.
So, how does this apply to an IMAGE of that expression? That is, if I post a photo (I took the photo or scan) of a letter (text, for this example) that I bought, is that photo protected under copyright law extending to text? In this instance, I'm assuming we don't know the provenance of the purchased letter.
David
re: Copyright issues, expanded
You have a copyright on the image, unquestionable. However, you may still be liable for use of that image under either common law or statutory law, or both. That is why you often see printed images of documents with names "blurred" or whited out. Potential liability for the use of that image goes beyond copyright infringement and may extend to privacy, defamation, or other issues (far too many variables to go into here). Much depends on how the image is used: whether individuals can be identified through use of the image, how others are characterized or described in the context of the document presented in the image, whether you can be perceived as having malicious intent (whether actual or borne of negligence), etc.