Each of the images on this site have been researched and credited to the best of the authors ability, there is, however, a great deal of ambiguity in the realm of copyright laws and usage rights for old photographs. Most of the images used on this site are in the public domain and as such do not fall under copyright laws. Despite this many of the sources that these photographs have been retrieved from have guidelines that govern the usage of their material such as mandating that they are properly cited. Because of the variety of laws that govern material it is up to the individual using the photograph to ensure that they are in compliance. The photographs on The Collective Picture have been labeled and cited with as much detail as was available at the time of retrieving the image, despite this there may still be concerns about the images used here. If you have a concern regarding the photographs on The Collective Picture please leave your message in the comments section. For those looking for more information about the copyright laws that govern the images used on this site here are some links that describe these issues in more detail.
http://www.flickr.com/commons/usage/ Rights statement for the flickr commons as a whole as well as links to the different organizations involved in this project and the guidelines that govern their specific material.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reusing_content_outside_Wikimedia A description of the different catagories and available usages of images in the commons.
http://home.nps.gov/applications/hafe/hfc/copyright.cfm Copyright information for historical photographs on National Park Service website.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/195_copr.html Copyright and restrictions on usage for images from the Library of Congress.
http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/about/policies/copyright.html State Library of New South Wales website, describes restrictions on photos and usage rights.
http://www.si.edu/termsofuse/ Smithsonian Institution Terms of Use and Copyright information
http://www.nypl.org/legal/flickr.cfm New York Public Library image usage for flickr commons photographs.
