[B]IN THE MID-80'S I HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO BE THE STAGE PHOTOGRAPHER AT THE RUSSIAN RIVER JAZZ FESTIVAL, and I took pix of easily recognizable famous & near-famous people such as Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, and John Mayall. I also shot for a newspaper and have pictures of Ray Charles, and other well-known folks. I've never sought to market my B & W pictures commercially and I'm thinking of putting a 12 or 18 month calendar together, with a run of (possibly) 200 to 300 calendars. I'm wondering if I need to contact these people, their agents, the executors of their estates in order to get permission to use their image for my modest "commercial" project. I'm thinking newspapers publish pix of famous people daily, and they're commercial enterprises (they sell ads). They don't ask permission. I'd love to know what's legal and ethical. If anyone has anything to offer, please feel free.
Thanks for your time
stephen [/B