If I contact the ebay person, does he hold the copyright?

You need to find out what the copyright laws are in your country and determine how long rights last. Wikipedia offers a useful list of just this:

[en.wikipedia.org...]

Depending on which laws apply, you may also need to do a bit of reading up on 'Orphan works' - works for which no copyright owner can be found.

If you had the original negatives from which the photos were made .. you might be able to use them ..

But what is on Ebay is the persons "scans" of their photos ..and the "scans" are their copyright ( if they had the negatives when they made the scans )..so you cant use them ..If they didn't have the "negs" then they may very well be using the photos illegally (depending on their age etc ) in posting the scans on Ebay..

But if you bought the negatives you might be able to ..
The copyright in photos resides with the negatives or the plates etc ..not the "photo"..

Even if you buy the photos from the Ebayer......they probably dont have the copyright themselves unless they have the negatives..and even then depends on if it was "commissioned" or "work for hire" ..

I've had many of my images used on Ebay ( even hotlinked to until I blocked everything that's not from my own domains and "no cached" ..I've never given permission ..they just got used ..

Re orphan works ..If you know it isnt yours ..then even if you cant find the owner easily ..you cant just take it ..Or one could just appropriate anything that wasn't engraved with someone elses name that one happened to find lying around on the "sidewalk " or in the street ( public places )..

Here's a very interesting photographers copyright blog outlining the impact of the impending Digital Economy Bill in the UK:

[copyrightaction.com...]

Essentially, if photos were cars, so long as the numberplate is missing (or you can get rid of it and claim it was), you'll be able to legally TWOC [take without owner's consent] and use it on payment of a fee to the Government.

The quaint notion that the author alone has prime and inalienable rights over his/her own work, must be able to restrict usage, negotiate a fee, prevent usage they consider immoral or distasteful, or assert their moral right to attribution, is about to pass into history.

Syzygy thanks for the link ..WOW ! So the sith lord thinks that is a good and fair idea ..Glad I left ..permanently ..

My "info" is also always encrypted into my images as well as exifed into the headers..and I'll fight theft in the jurisdiction of my choice ..but mandy is insane to have even imagined that pile of excremental legislative dross ..