This one is very bizarre and it might make for an interesting discussion. Apparently there are over 1,000 “New Deal” murals in post offices all over the country and the USPS  asserts the following on their website:

• At the discretion of the local Postmaster the U.S. Postal Service allows individuals to take low resolution photographs of New Deal Art from public areas of Post Office facilities as long as no disruption is caused. Low resolution is defined as an image with a maximum of 72 dpi and no larger than a four-by-five-inch output to end use.
• If you display pictures you have taken of Post Office artwork in a non-commercial setting (for example, on a personal Web site or in an educational article), credit must be given to the U.S. Postal Service. The following language must be placed in close proximity to the mural photograph: “Used with the permission of the United States Postal Service®. All rights reserved.”

Ok so if I snap a picture while I’m in the post office and put it on my blog I have to crop it to a non standard 4×5? And as TechDirt points out, you would think that the Treasury Department commissioned murals would be public domain? I’m going to go a step further and ask, “Wouldn’t the mural copyright still be held by the original artist (unless there was some type of work for hire contract in place involving copyright) so in fact the Post Office mightreally have no business telling people to credit them for the image at all. Or would they? This is weird and I’m confused… I need more coffee.

I guess we all need to be more careful about where we publish any images that we might happen to take in a post office.  Who knew!

Wondering what a “New Deal” mural is?

From 1934 to 1943, the New Deal murals and sculpture seen in Post Offices were produced under the Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and

Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts. Unlike the Works Progress Administration/Federal Art Project, with which it often is confused, this

program was not directed toward providing economic relief. Instead, the art placed in Post Offices was intended to help boost the morale of people suffering the effects of the Great Depression with art From 1934 to 1943, the New Deal murals andsculpture seen in Post Offices were produced underthe Treasury Department’s Section of Painting andSculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts.Unlike the Works Progress Administration/FederalArt Project, with which it often is confused, thisprogram was not directed toward providingeconomic relief. Instead, the art placed in PostOffices was intended to help boost the morale ofpeople suffering the effects of the Great Depression with art…

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