alli_lou

copyright stuff?

1:51 pm - 03/06/2007
Alright ladies (and gents), I've got questions regarding copyright type things. I'd like to sell some decoupaged objects (boxes, trays, perhaps light switch covers too...) but wonder about the legalities regarding that. If I use pictures from calendars or magazines, is that allowed, or is all that copyrighted? And what if I buy paper from somewhere like Paper Source that has a particular pattern on it; are you allowed to sell objects made from it?? I'm so afraid of stepping on copyrighted toes...



A hat I knit for a friend of mine (she's modelling it here, and was very happy with it!)



I've also done a bit of experimenting with making jewelry...here's my most successful creations!



Millefiori & sterling earrings



'Green with Envy' bracelet



Close up of my 'coffee and cream' necklace



Some dangly earrings I made.

Feed Back is appreciated! :)
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melfice 6th-Mar-2007 07:09 pm (UTC)
Thanks for asking this =) I'm curious too!

And I love the green with envy bracelet. Great job on all of these!
alli_lou 6th-Mar-2007 07:16 pm (UTC)
Thanks!! Though now there are seed beeds hiding all throughout the carpet in my living room...
filming 6th-Mar-2007 07:10 pm (UTC)
As long as it's not for financial gain, you're fine.

You should actually look up the copyright law. It's very interesting. It's not what everyone thinks it is.
nzgoddess 6th-Mar-2007 07:48 pm (UTC)
Actually that's not quite right .. You CAN use images from books/zines etc and use them for collages/badges/mixed media art which are later sold commercially - it is not taking a copy! So you couldn't legally photograph the finished art piece to market the work for sale, have it printed in a magazine or catalogue etc, but your still free to use the images as are ..

Unless of course they are vintage images which your free to copy/distribute as you wish ♥
zillion_eyes 6th-Mar-2007 07:15 pm (UTC)
your jewelry is gorgeous :) definitely keep at it if those are your "experiments" haha The green one reminded me first of something floral (ivy, etc) but then it reminded me of something beachy. I'm a sucker for jewelry that's more than just jewelry. awesome :)
alli_lou 6th-Mar-2007 07:17 pm (UTC)
Thank you so much! Now if I can buckle down to one project at a time, I'd be all set :)
zillion_eyes 6th-Mar-2007 07:18 pm (UTC)
and ps - I don't know much about copyrights, but I would suggest talking to either someone who sells collage/decoupage things or else to the people where you get your images from.

When I do collages, I tend to use really benign, unrecognizable things that probably don't belong to anyone or else I make my stuff. You could try this safe route, too, until you know more about it. goodluck :)
alli_lou 6th-Mar-2007 07:19 pm (UTC)
Yeah, I mostly want to use ribbon and printed paper, so I don't think there would be problems with those, but I wasn't sure what the rules would be if I were to use bits of the awesome 2006 calendar of vintage ads I have...hmmm...
aeramel 6th-Mar-2007 07:24 pm (UTC)
Hi there, I'm not actually a member of the community (yet) but a watcher and this is something I've had to deal with in the past. If my posting is a no-no please go ahead and delete.

Copyright and art of any sort have an odd relation ship and there isn't much out there that will give you a straight leagalese-free answer. This is a super quick summary of what I have learned.

Type/font from a free/open source is your for the taking. There are tones of sites our there were you can download fonts for free. Just make sure they are listed as open/free source if you plan on selling the finished product. Anything listed as "for personal use" stay away from if the end product is for sale.

The same goes for images/photography. There are plenty of sites out there with free stock photography, just pay attention to the use disclaimer. You probably want to stay away from magazines and calendars unless you get their written permission, as they've probably had to pay copyright fees for the art/image/photo or have an agreement concerning copyright and reproduction with the artist.

Body text is really tricky. In most cases so long as you credit the author as the source you're fine, but this isn't always the case. Crediting the auther isn't always possible either for a number of reason.

I hope this was helpful. If not I'm sorry I took up so much space.
alli_lou 6th-Mar-2007 07:40 pm (UTC)
That is very helpful, thank you!

That's pretty much what I figured for the magazine/calendar images...do you think anything sold in craft/art supply stores is sort of 'free for the taking' though? I mean, printed paper, gift wrap, etc?

aeramel 6th-Mar-2007 07:59 pm (UTC)
I think that might fall in the "for personal use" category, but I'm not sure. You did pay for the materials, so the manufactured has got what they wanted, being your money. You'll want to look into that one.
chokingonlilies 6th-Mar-2007 07:39 pm (UTC)
This site details some copyright information.

There's more if you Google "collage" and "copyrights."
alli_lou 6th-Mar-2007 07:43 pm (UTC)
Great; Thanks for the link! :)
oribe 6th-Mar-2007 08:34 pm (UTC)
I was just about to link this. :D
alli_lou 6th-Mar-2007 08:36 pm (UTC)
Yeah, that site was marvelously helpful...why, I wasn't even familiar with the Dover Pictorial Archives!!

Of course now I've gone and ordered a couple on Amazon, and shall be putting them to good use...10 pictures per project for free! I can totally stay in that range! :)
melibear31 6th-Mar-2007 08:45 pm (UTC)
I wish my "experiments" could be that successful.
alli_lou 6th-Mar-2007 08:47 pm (UTC)
Well these are the first successful ones...there are others that were promptly taken apart because of their fugliness; those just don't get put on the interwebs ;)
tiffanyharvey 6th-Mar-2007 08:59 pm (UTC)
The best thing that you can do is look over the official copyright office's page and read what they have to say about collages. There is a lot of mis-information out there, so this way you make sure you know what the law actually is. ~ http://www.copyright.gov/

I will say the site used to be arranged a lot better, and it was much easier to find information on there. :(
widdershins_art 7th-Mar-2007 12:32 am (UTC)
Your "Green with Envy" bracelet is just stunning! I love the contrast of the seed bead strands against the chunkier beads. Great work!
alli_lou 7th-Mar-2007 12:56 pm (UTC)
Thanks so much!! It's my favorite too :)
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