copyright guidance

Details, as well as sample situations, for the legal use of images and other potentially copyrighted material is outlined at
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~ncc/imageuse/rightsholder.html

follow-up response on the H-Japan list, www.h-net.org for 13 July 2010
From my own experience as an author: I believe with the 1930 case, one would determine that permission is not needed since the organization is gone. (But if an artist is credited or the likeness of an individual appears in the illustration that would be a different matter.) For example, magazines I have worked with have said that it would be OK to republish advertisements from companies that are now out of business, and that their own (the magazine's) permission is not needed since it is over 50 years since publication, though I try to get it anyway if they can be contacted. I would guess that legally you need permission for the 1990s item, but perhaps there are fair use practices for such government documents? Of course, I am not a lawyer, but these are just my personal experiences with these sorts of materials.
[S. Frederick]