Hi. I have an old baby photo album (well, at least as old as I am - 41 years) with some really cute baby cartoons drawn in it. I think they would make great embroidery designs, but I want to make sure I can use them legally, possibly sell the designs at some point. Isn't there a set amount of time that the copyright goes away or something - I thought I remember seeing that somewhere, but I'm not sure. Thanks! Beth in AZ
Great question Beth! The answer is 75 years from date of copyright for most situations, or 75 years from the date of death of the copyright holder. Also -- if the copyright was "renewed" then it is 75 years from the date of last renewal. So.. most likely the artwork you're looking at is still copyright protected.
However, you can BUY the right to use artwork at a very reasonable price if you can find similar artwork you'd like to use. It's even possible you can find the exact same artwork. I'd suggest you browse around this website... http://store.doverpublications.com Read their Terms Of Use which differ from one book to the next and are entirely different on artwork purchased on CD vs in books.
