Digging Deeper Into Vivian Maier’s Past / New York Times

I know she's been a topic of interest for a while because of her unusual story, but I really like her photography. Some photographers just have an eye to capture the human experience and I find that a huge attraction of her work. It was almost as if she didn't quite understand the world of people and was observing like a scientist trying to find a pattern.
 
Thanks for the link, but I'm very saddened about the linked article regarding a vulture lawyer The Heir’s Not Apparent (Published 2014)

This lawyer claims that he was just troubled that some people found her work in a storage bin and is now making money off it. It seems he traveled to Europe to find some tenuous distant relative that he could pursued to establish as next-of-kin in the US. All altruistic, I'm sure ;). He even says he's "greatly reduced his going rate" to pursue this.
 
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I don't know much about photographic copyright, but from the article above

"Under federal copyright law, owning a photograph’s negative or a print is distinct from owning the copyright itself. The copyright owner controls whether images can be reproduced and sold."

So, I guess the question is, while Maloof bought the physical representation, who owns the actual copyright?

Mr. Maloof (in the article) reports only this year has he started making money, due to the initial investment up front.

I guess any kind of "windfall" like this is bound to attract legal attention.
 
Copyright is handled differently in the US than to anywhere else in the world, TTBOMK, to the advantage of the lawyers, sadly. Here in the UK, for example, and in all countries signatory to the Berne Convention, copyright is solely, unequivocally owned by the creator, and by their estate and legitimate heirs in the event of their death. You do not have to "register" or "assert" - it is yours. We also do not recognise "fair use" per se although in this age of the Internet that is widely flouted.
 
i really liked when i heard she kept changing her name, place of origin, and accents from job to job... i fancy her a spy in training!
 
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