Quotes And Cipyright Issues

there are public domain quotes, i don't know if its like the 70 year thing art has, but usually i think they are ok if they are long dead. or from the king james bible. however some of these you have to still be careful with. there is a long one (i forget what the title is), where people are being sued by the owner of it.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Thank you Mike!

Also, there is something called Fair use in Canada. I am not sure if it applies to the US. There is a certain percentage you can requote of an entire body of work without violating copyright.

Hello Mike,What's your opinion on images from old magazines from 1905 to 1917 that have logos still in use today,such,as Coca Cola,Boraxco,Willys- Nash,Packard etc. If I use them am I gonna go to jail ? Iv'e several old magazines from that era filled with old timey stuff.

as a non-lawyer type, i would have to ask the magazine. anything with a logo - trademark - is a no go. you won't go to jail, they will often ask to remove them or sue you. if the image has a bunch of other things in it, and its not just coke, it should be ok. still its the trademark that gets you because they have to fight to keep it. the stuff from old magazines will be half-toned though, and i don't know how well they would print anyway.

you can check with the library of congress loc.gov, while their search is a pain, they usually clear it if it's ok - however they won't protect you from brands (trademarks).

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

There is a reference book "Bartlett's Quotations", not sure how that's spelled, which probably give author and date. From that you can probably infer copyright.
I think that short quotes may be considered "Fair use" under copyright law, but don't quote me on that. I'm sure like most legal issues there are crazy exceptions and precedents.

like most versions of the bible -- all of those are copyrighted. each line is a little bit different. i doubt they would attack if you used it, but its something worth noting. king james is ok - as long as you don't thy and hath. there's also a PD version as well.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Mike, I think you're thinking of "The Desiderata" - copyright info here: http://www.cyberussr.com/hcunn/desiderata.html

If you are subject to United States law, see www.copyright.gov for a more full explanation of "fair use," and for information on US copyright law generally. The law may be different in other countries. This website has a very good FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page. You can go to the same website to read detailed information on how long copyrights last before a work falls into the public domain.

As a *very* general rule, with many exceptions, if a work is copyrighted, the copyright lasts for the life of the author + 70 years, then the work goes into the public domain. That's why it is usually ok to copy very old stuff. Very old stuff is usually in the public domain, because if it was ever copyrighted, the copyright has expired.

Intellectual property that is in the public domain is not copyrighted.

Copyrighted works are subject to "fair use." The "fair use" doctrine basically means you can copy copyrighted works under certain circumstances for certain purposes. There is a lot of case law applying the test for "fair use." Parody, and educational purposes, are two commonly invoked fair uses.

As Mike said above, copyright law does not address trademark, but since you were specifically asking about quotations, this probably isn't a trademark question -- unless you were somehow trying to quote a trademark....
As Gregory said above, when applying the test for fair use, one of the things that they look at is how much of the work is copied. If you're talking about a small excerpt, as opposed to copying all, or substantially all, of the work you're more likely to be able to invoke fair use - for the purposes for which fair use is allowed.

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations is a good place to find out who the author is for many commonly used quotations. You usually need to know the author's name, and the title of the work, to find out if a work is copyrighted.

Disclaimer: As always, this is just my personal opinion, not legal advice.

Daphne - to answer your question, I don't think people are getting their quotes from any one source. Some artists are more careful than others about using other people's copyrighted material. You can't assume that just because you see a quote on Person A's artwork, that it's ok for you to use it, too.

that's the one. i can never remember that name, i just remember it was hard to spell and kind of a long word. everyone uses it, many say its pd, but its not.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Desiderata...I just saw that one sold today. I did a search and there are over 10 pages of people selling this poem. The author's wife renewed it's copyright in 1954 and it's still valid. So, I guess all those selling artwork using that poem are violating copyright laws?

I'm working on some children's art and was going to use the phrase "I love you to the moon and back", as I used to say this to my daughter all the time. When I checked I, it looks as though it's trademarked. Yet, there are probably thousands using this quote also.

Unless the copyright holder makes a complaint/DMCA notification to FAA, there is nothing we can do about it individually.

I realize that, Joy :) It's just now that I've checked I wouldn't feel right about using CR or TM quotes. Time to dig into my childhood books and do some checking.

The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled years ago that the Desiderata was public domain. The family of Max Ehrmann has tried in the past (unsuccessfully) to get paid for usage. But the court ruling has not been seriously challenged, as far as I am aware.

i wanted to use that poem because it does sell. but its not worth using if i can get sued.

some people may have bought the rights to use it though, so we can't really assume anything.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

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Hi Sharon,

We can't tell without more information whether anyone using material that is presumed copyrighted is doing anything wrong. A copyright holder can give, sell or otherwise transfer some or all of their copyrights in their work to other parties.

It's also possible for authors to dump their work into the public domain, either by accident, or on purpose.

Regarding the quotation you would like to use, your first step would be to ask permission from the author. Sometimes authors are fine with people using their work. You never know until you ask.

Disclaimer: As always, just my opinion, not legal advice...

Why not make up a quote yourself or just stick to "anonymous" ones. Pretty sure "anonymous" can't sue anyone :D

- Richard Reeve
ReevePhotos.com

or ancient chinese proverbs.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Can I quote you on that Richard ???? ;-))

I've started a list of my own sayings/quotes tonight :) I'll have to see if I can put together something using them.

Yes Marty, anyone can have this one, gratis:

"Pretty sure 'anonymous' can't sue anyone :D"- Richard Reeve

- Richard Reeve
ReevePhotos.com

I'm changing my name to anonymous... there is money in it!

Wow, thank you so much for all of this helpful information. I have made up a few quotes to go with my photography but at times, I would like to use a favorite quote of mine from someone else. This is something I have always wondered about.

Hi Daphene,

I am from Avon, CT. My work is public domain based.

Thought I'd give you a shout in New Canaan.

I have no clue what the rules are for poetry.

Dave

PS your twitter button is not working. Your Instagram page is great.