Copyright Policy
At The Past Matters®, we abide by federal copyright law. To that end, we have established the following copyright policies:
The Past Matters® and Karen Wallace Steely are the copyright owners for all digital images and text on this web site. Please contact The Past Matters® LLC to request permission if you wish to use content from this web site. Our written permission is required for distribution, reproduction, or any other use of our web site content, except as allowed under fair use and other applicable statutes.
The digital images on this website were created and digitally enhanced by Karen Wallace Steely from original vintage photographs, postcards, and documents that are the property of Karen Wallace Steely and The Past Matters® LLC, unless specifically noted otherwise.
The original artifacts digitized for this website are presumed to be in the public domain, and information about the creator of an original artifact is provided when known. Note that for many of the original artifacts the creator is unknown or unclear, and the artifact may be considered an orphan work.
Although The Past Matters® LLC is not aware of any U.S. Copyright or any other restrictions on the original artifacts, we make no warranty regarding the use of the original artifacts for other purposes. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an original artifact and securing any necessary permissions rests with the individual who wishes to use it.
It is the policy of The Past Matters® LLC to immediately remove, upon notification and verification, any digital image displayed on this web site which is copyrighted by another party. Our use on this web site of digital images of vintage artifacts is not intended as an infringement of any other party’s copyright.
If you or your organization own the copyright to a digital image on this web site and are able to provide verifiable proof of your claim, we want to hear from you. Once you provide legal, verifiable proof of your right to demand removal, your material will be removed immediately unless you provide permission for its use. Please use our Contact Form form to let us know.