If I plan to reproduce a photograph of James Joyce or a member of his family in my scholarly book or article, should I seek the Estate’s permission before doing so?
In most cases, no. Copyright law with respect to photographs has historically been somewhat complicated, but in most countries, the copyright in a photograph, if any, is initially owned by the “author” of the photograph—typically, the person who snapped the picture. This means that, as a general rule, if James Joyce is the subject of a photograph, he could not have authored it. An older photograph whose author is unknown—and this is the case with many older photos, especially candid ones—may generally be reproduced without permission, especially if it seems likely that the photo is old enough to be in the public domain. Reproducing a photograph whose author is unknown opens up the possibility—perhaps a remote one, though not out of the question—that the author or his or her descendants might come forward to object. In this situation, your having previously made a good-faith effort to locate the author might help your case, but it would not be a complete defense to an infringement claim
