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The imposing Greek Revival McMurran Hall was erected in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in 1859 by Rezin Davis Shepherd, who intended it to be a town hall

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The imposing Greek Revival McMurran Hall was erected in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in 1859 by Rezin Davis Shepherd, who intended it to be a town hall

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Summary

Title, date and keywords based on information provided by the photographer.
A major benefactor of the town, Shepherd grew wealthy as a businessman in New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The clock in the tower, donated to the town by Shepherd in 1842 and originally housed in the old Episcopal Church, was moved to the town hall tower in 1860. After the Civil War, the building served briefly as the county courthouse, and the wings were added. In 1927 it was named in memory of Joseph McMurran, Shepherd's first principal.
Credit line: West Virginia Collection within the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Purchase; Carol M. Highsmith Photography, Inc.; 2015; (DLC/PP-2015:055).
Forms part of: West Virginia Collection within the Carol M. Highsmith Archive.

In 2015, documentary photographer Carol Highsmith received a letter from Getty Images accusing her of copyright infringement for featuring one of her own photographs on her own website. It demanded payment of $120. This was how Highsmith came to learn that stock photo agencies Getty and Alamy had been sending similar threat letters and charging fees to users of her images, which she had donated to the Library of Congress for use by the general public at no charge. In 2016, Highsmith has filed a $1 billion copyright infringement suit against both Alamy and Getty stating “gross misuse” of 18,755 of her photographs. “The defendants [Getty Images] have apparently misappropriated Ms. Highsmith’s generous gift to the American people,” the complaint reads. “[They] are not only unlawfully charging licensing fees … but are falsely and fraudulently holding themselves out as the exclusive copyright owner.” According to the lawsuit, Getty and Alamy, on their websites, have been selling licenses for thousands of Highsmith’s photographs, many without her name attached to them and stamped with “false watermarks.” (more: http://hyperallergic.com/314079/photographer-files-1-billion-suit-against-getty-for-licensing-her-public-domain-images/)

date_range

Date

2000 - 2020
person

Contributors

Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer
place

Location

Shepherdstown (W. Va.)39.43000, -77.80417
Google Map of 39.43, -77.80416666666666
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Source

Library of Congress
copyright

Copyright info

No known restrictions on publication.

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