Discussion:
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania
Is it legal to use the likeness of various celebrities, cartoon images, magazine covers, and other items without written permission of these persons, owners, etc.?
My co-workers believe that these items are considered public domain therefore are usable within a printed piece my organization is putting out to celebrate our anniversary. I on the other hand believe we need to be sure.(these items are included as a timeline like layout with items or persons that also came about or became famous that same year).
We are printing 5000 of these pieces and they will be used around the the United States.
thanks
Answer:
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania
Is it legal to use the likeness of various celebrities, cartoon images, magazine covers, and other items without written permission of these persons, owners, etc.?
My co-workers believe that these items are considered public domain therefore are usable within a printed piece my organization is putting out to celebrate our anniversary. I on the other hand believe we need to be sure.(these items are included as a timeline like layout with items or persons that also came about or became famous that same year).
We are printing 5000 of these pieces and they will be used around the the United States.
thanks Technically, no it would not be legal to use the works without permission. The likeness question has two issues -- whether you are using the person's image in a commercial setting (which is illegal without permission), and the copyright on the photo itself. Cartoon images may be both copyrighted and trademarked.
From a practical standpoint, if all you are doing is using tiny photos on a timeline, it's quite possible that the use of the works could be considered a "fair use," or at least something that wouldn't be worth suing over. On the other hand, if you want to be perfectly legal, you'll need to obtain permission to use any copyrighted works.