LOLOLOL

OK, here is the summary ...

"Still, the safest course of action (particularly if you have any doubts) is: Do not copy unless you have permission or are sure it is in the public domain! Clip art is sold to be copied -- use that, taking care to note any limitations that accompany it. (For example, I have a CD of clip art that can be used in printed works, but the license expressedly forbids digital distribution. Thus, I cannot use it to liven up my web pages!)"

From another site, the definition of Public Domain is as follows:

"(PD) The total absence of copyright protection. If something is "in the public domain" then anyone can copy it or use it in any way they wish. The author has none of the exclusive rights which apply to a copyright work.

The phrase "public domain" is often used incorrectly to refer to freeware or shareware (software which is copyrighted but is distributed without (advance) payment). Public domain means no copyright -- no exclusive rights. In fact the phrase "public domain" has no legal status at all in the UK."

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So it seems to me that unless specifically stated otherwise by the original creator (or, probably his family now, in this case), you need permission to redistribute (copy) it, as some of us have already said.

The link also provided an answer that might pertain to the "fan art" question that Moonbiter raised above ...

"Limits to Copyright

Copyright does not give an owner the right to sell or distribute a work. For example, consider one person's drawing of another's painting. Even if copyrightable (and it may not be), the drawing would infringe copyright in the original painting. Also, of course, the right to sell a work might be affected by laws governing matters such as obscenity or the rights of privacy or publicity of any person depicted."
On the other hand ... "Independent creation is permitted. A second work, identical to an earlier copyrighted work, does not infringe, if it is, in fact, independently created. [Of course, the better known the first work, the less likely that an independent creation defense will be believed.]"

Message edited on: 12/06/2004 18:10