Head of Mary

myminifactory

"2008 MMA"—Copyright inscription by the Metropolitan Museum of Art This 3D capture was made from a bronze resin cast molded directly from the Statue of Liberty. A label on the back of the cast reads: "This facsimile copy is authorized by the Smithsonian Museums. It is produced under the supervision of the Reproduction Studio of the Metropolitan Museum of Art from direct impression molds of the original sculpture developed by the Department of Scientific Research of the Smithsonian Museums." I imagine the Smithsonian and Met took a great deal of care making these molds and casts, and as a good cast is extremely accurate, this model may be the most faithful digital copy of freedom available to the public until the Smithsonian freely publishes their own 3D survey of the Statue of Liberty—if and when that ever happens. The copyright notice the Met scrawled into the back would be funny if it weren't so problematic. Emma Lazarus's sonnet is so clearly in the public domain that it's hard to imagine what legitimate purpose the Met could have had in mind. No one has a copyright in Emma Lazarus's work, and IP is screwed up enough without people who should know better making nonsensical or careless claims that chill and thwart the free use of public domain works. —Cosmo Wenman@CosmoWenmancosmowenman.comcosmo.wenman@gmail.com