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Saint Louis News - "All the news that is Saint Louis"
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ST. LOUIS, MO (Newstream) Dec 16, 2001 - The compelling photograph of the three firefighters raising the flag at Ground Zero on September 11th, taken by Record staff photographer Thomas E. Franklin, has become famous worldwide for depicting the resolve of the American spirit in the face of incredible tragedy. Unfortunately, the photograph has also become the impetus for many copyright infringements and unauthorized commercial uses of the image by illegal profiteers. In order to protect its copyright and to ensure that the photograph retains its dignity, The Record (Bergen County, NJ) which owns the copyright, has partnered with the three firefighters in the photo who are represented by attorney William (Bill) P. Kelly of McCarthy & Kelly LLP. "We are very concerned because so many companies around the country are infringing on the copyright by illegally marketing and selling products containing the photograph," states attorney Bill Kelly of McCarthy & Kelly LLP. "While most claim to be donating all or part of the proceeds to the World Trade Center disaster charity funds, we are not confident that the revenue generated by the sale of these illegal products is actually finding its way to the families that have suffered as a result of this tragedy. My firm is actively engaged in pursuing these entities that are illegally profiting by infringing on the copyright," states Mr. Kelly. After publishing the photo on September 12, The Record was immediately deluged with thousands of requests for uses ranging from printing it on tee shirts to recreating it as 3-D music boxes. The holiday demand for this photo has exacerbated the situation. "From the outset, The Record endeavored to preserve the dignity and integrity of the photo, and to ensure that any proceeds from its use went to appropriate charities," stated Jon Markey, president of North Jersey Media Group, which publishes The Record. The newspaper established an internal review committee, consisting of Franklin himself and several corporate executives, to evaluate the onslaught of requests - which still continue to arrive daily from individuals, non-profit, and for-profit organizations. While thus far declining all commercial requests, The Record has supplied more than 30,000 free reprints to the American public for personal use. Rather than charging individuals for a reprint, the newspaper suggested a donation to the North Jersey Media Group Disaster Relief Fund. To date, The Record has raised more than $1.2 million to benefit the 400 families of WTC victims from northern New Jersey, and incurred more than $100,000 in expenses to make the limited edition reprint available to the public, which brought in a portion of the total donations to the fund. "We also felt it was important to respect the wishes of the firefighters themselves, " noted Jennifer Borg, Vice President and General Counsel of North Jersey Media Group. The three firefighters shown in the photograph were heretofore unavailable to participate in decision-making about usage of the photograph because they were focused on rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero. Now that they have partnered with The Record, they are deeply involved, through their counsel Bill Kelly, in reviewing the myriad of requests. To ensure that funds reach the approved destinations, all parties are asking the public to avoid partaking in offers that are not legitimate. To help, The Record is also asking all media and advertising directors across the country to carefully screen commercial offers using the photo that are placed in their publications. They understand the challenge. The Record itself has accepted routine national advertising inserts only to discover too late that the contents included advertising for unauthorized products or collectibles bearing the purloined image. "For example," said Markey, "we inadvertently accepted a recent insert from a large insert company for the Sunday edition of our newspaper. The insert was later found to contain an ad and order coupon for an unsanctioned collectible." In an effort to meet the public demand for this historic photo while stemming the tide of exploitative ventures, The Record and the three firefighters have joined together to sanction two keepsake items whose proceeds are guaranteed to benefit the North Jersey Media Group Disaster Relief Fund. A high-quality 24-in x 3-ft wall poster is available through The Record's web site at www.northjersey.com. This is the only poster authorized by the holder of the copyright, The Record (Bergen County, N.J.) A commemorative hardbound book of photos, entitled Ground Zero Spirit, is available through www.northjersey.com. The book presents a unique collection of dramatic and poignant photos, including the Franklin photo, depicting scenes at Ground Zero and North Jersey's response during a time of unparalleled crisis. At this time, these are the only two authorized products bearing the image. They each carry the Ground Zero Spirit name as well as the copyright notation to The Record and a photo attribution to Thomas E. Franklin. 
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