Copyright Row over Coronation Stamp

The picture showing three girls working on a giant Coronation mural was allegedly shot by Leon Till at Hollycroft School in Plymouth in the weeks leading up to the 1953 Coronation and the original photograph has been shown to STAMP MAGAZINE by Mr. Till's son, Roger, who is questioning the copyright issues surrounding its use on a stamp.

The copyright of the image is believed to lie with the Corbis picture agency (which was founded by Bill Gates in 1989) but speaking to STAMP MAGAZINE Roger Till said: I saw it and thought I know that photograph, and I dug out the pictures from my fathers album. I am a bit concerned that copyright of one of my fathers photos is with this large US company. Ive sent half a dozen e-mails to Corbis but havent had a reply.

Roger Till has contacted Royal Mail to point out that the photograph used was shot by his father and to try to get to the bottom of the mystery as to how it ended up on a GB stamp. He received an e-mail back from the head of Royal Mail's intellectual property division stating that it was looking at the situation. STAMP MAGAZINE also spoke to Corbis who said that the matter was with its lawyers.

Mr. Till believes the image was shot by his father on an old Microcord twin lens reflex camera and, in fact, he is in the picture as a four-year-old boy.

It is believed that Royal Mail, Getty Images and Corbis do not wish to go down the legal route and provided that Roger Till can provide authentic proof of the origins of the image then they are likely to be prepared to pay out the appropriate royalties.

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