Color pencil peacock on ©1983 Webster's Dictionary pages
This is a school art project my daughter is working on for class. Her teacher loaned her an old (©1983) Webster's dictionary to use as the background paper. In my daughter's eyes - this is a vintage dictionary. In my eyes - it is my freshman year of college! I mentioned to my daughter that it is copyright infringement to use the dictionary pages without permission. I got an eye roll. :-D
"It is just a dictionary Mom... Just for class Mom..." I am thinking, what if you want to sell this piece some day?
So I fired up my computer and did a little research. As far as I can tell, I wouldn't use anything unless is was copyrighted prior to 1923. Here is a good chart for more detailed exceptions: http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm
A Pinterest search turned up a LOT of people creating art on old books - fun to look at! http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=art%20on%20old%20books
I got tired of trying to find out if there is an exception for a dictionary. Does anyone know for sure? I would love to point to some authority so I can say "I told you so" :-)
One more thought...I maybe shouldn't post this image on my blog?! Hmmm.
Thanks Doodlebugerz - Always enjoy hearing from you.
Make my week and follow this blog!
I hope I'm not doing this twice, but I don't see my post!
ReplyDeleteYour daughter's artwork is beautiful…she must get that from you!
Regarding the copyright issue,I don't believe it's a problem unless she wants to sell or license it.But it's a great issue for us all to contemplate ,thanks!
Hey Kim,
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't think it is an issue unless she wants to sell it someday. She does think that dictionaries "don't count" where copyright is concerned. I think they do count :-) Thanks so much for stopping by!
I use old dictionary pages in my mixed-media art. However, the pages are usually covered with layers of paint, ink, etc. and the text is not clearly visible. I think that dictionaries come under the copyright law but I'm not 100% sure.
ReplyDeleteHey Darlene! You are the first person to tell me they use old dictionary pages! THANKS so much! I to think they fall under copyright law unless they are old enough to be considered Public Domain. Thanks a bunch for stopping by and commenting :-)
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ReplyDelete