ccDan - 9:13 pm on Jul 1, 2007 (gmt 0)

But, in the case of the Eiffel Tower, any copyright claims would most likely (not sure about French law) have expired. Whereas any copyright claim on the Smith sculpture might still be in effect.

I guess the question is, what happens to copyright on a public landmark? On the one hand, by virtue of giving, or being paid for, a work of art to be used in such a manner would seem to put it in the public domain.

On the other hand, the town of Smith may possess the physical work of art, but the copyright may still belong to the artist.

I wonder if it's going to come down to having to research the status of any public landmark, especially any that may have been erected (in the U.S.) since 1923, to see whether or not it can be photographed or its likeness used in any manner.