kmmcrafts Posted August 1, 2015 Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 I keep seeing people on sites like eBay and etsy that sell portraits of famous people. I read a while back on a site I sell on ( Artfire ) that these portraits are copy written.. They was saying any image that resembles a famous person is actually illegal other than if you make a cartoon type out of them.. What are your thoughts on this? I have a couple portraits I made a long time ago of Tim McGraw I made for a friend.. I stack cut them ( not sure who the pattern designer was ) and I would like to offer them for sale.. not to keep making them but to get the ones I have out of my way.. hate to just toss them out.. but also not wanting any trouble either, LOL Anyone selling this style portraits of famous people? I may just throw them in my brush burn pile for my next bon fire.. just hate to if I could legally sell them..been kicking them from storage bin to storage bin for 5 years now.. time to do something with them. I did two different styles and stack cut 3 of each so I would be tossing out 5 portraits, LOL Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted August 1, 2015 Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 Maybe look in user guidelines on the bottom of each page for the answer you seek until someone chimes in with another answer for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawson56 Posted August 1, 2015 Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 Well I have sold Plaques of Famous People for several years now.I don't do Nascar,but I ahve done quite a few others,Country singers,Actors,Rock singers.I have never gotten any complaints or warnings,Just about Nascar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Scroller Posted August 1, 2015 Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 I always say ignorance is bliss until the copyright army catch up with you. It's a bit more strict over the pond though,you have a sue and shot first ask questions later policy. Roly Norm Fengstad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC Scroller Posted August 1, 2015 Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 (edited) I think if you are the one who took the photo during a public appearance then you have the right else you technically are in copyright violation. Now I doubt Dale Jr or a member of his legal team will be touring craft fairs looking for copyright violations. Of course you are always to cut a design even one with a copyright as long is it is for your own person use. Edited August 1, 2015 by NC Scroller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted August 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 If I sold at a craft fair I wouldn't worry much about it.. but since I sell online.. well that is a different story.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneMahler Posted August 1, 2015 Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 This has been discussed with sports team logos. And that had mixed results. I would think the same would apply to celebrities. I have seen many designs for celebrities that were drawn fresh and my understanding is that becomes the artistic property of the designer. Taking a photo from the internet and creating a pattern is quite different. I have found photos on one site that were marked copyrite and the same photo on a different site that were not marked.I went through all of this with "foot prints in the sand" and wrote the web site asking permission to cut it. I was eventually granted permission to do only one. Later I purchased a book that had the pattern published in it giving for credit to the original author. This arrived at me assuming that if it is published in a pattern book and you are the rightful ower of the book via purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWSUDEKUM Posted August 1, 2015 Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 Kevin, A photograph of a portrait is copy written. The work we do as scrollers is considered an artistic interpretation of the original and as such the copyright on the original portrait does not apply. In fact the work you did IS copy written and you own the copyright for your own work. DW Fish and Dan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWSUDEKUM Posted August 1, 2015 Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 Later I purchased a book that had the pattern published in it giving for credit to the original author. This arrived at me assuming that if it is published in a pattern book and you are the rightful ower of the book via purchase. Wayne, You own the book, the physical book. You however do not own the contents, this belongs to the publisher and the artists which have released control to the publisher. While most circumstances will allow you to use the patterns for reasonable use. There is an issue of how many of the item can you make from the pattern and have it still considered reasonable use? Some folks like myself allow someone to use my pattern all they wish as long as they give credit were the pattern came from, others are not so reasonable. It is always a good thing to contact the designer to get written permission if you plan to do a lot of sales of the item made from that pattern. DW WayneMahler 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crupiea Posted August 1, 2015 Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 I have no idea what the legalities involved are but do have some thoughts on the subject. Think about tattoos. You can get a mickey mouse tattoo that clearly says disney right above it and looks just like mickey. Disney wont make you carve it off your arm nor will they pursue the tattoo artist. I imagine if you posted that they were offically licensed portaits of the celeb then of course that would not be allowed understandably. Look up something like bugs bunny on ebay and you will see all sorts of homemade bugs bunnys and they clearly monitor their posts for what is and what is not allowed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayneMahler Posted August 1, 2015 Report Share Posted August 1, 2015 DW This for sure is traveling in muddy waters. I went back through the book I purchased and no where does it state any number of copies allowed for cutting. It does state no reproduction or distribution allowed. Thus my assumption of being allowed to cut and sell my work or intepritation of the pattern. I also tend to think that those of us that legally try to proceed with in the confines of the laws, sometimes get the short end of the pervibial stick. It's best to keep it clean and honest and stay the best we can with in the laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Just make sure you use photos that are in the public domain and copyright free there is plenty to choose from....paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Marine Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 dont mean to sound dumb but what is the problem with NASCAR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyG Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 10 hours ago, Senior Marine said: dont mean to sound dumb but what is the problem with NASCAR $$$$$$$$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wichman Posted March 13 Report Share Posted March 13 Scrollsaw Woodworking & Crafts Fall 2020 issue 80 has an article about this as does Creative Woodworks & Crafts Sept 2005 issue 110. It is not just famous people or celebrities each and every one of us owns the copyright to our own image, there are exceptions but if you're using it for a profitable venture then the person using the image needs permission or a release. My old boss, at the art publishing bushiness, used images of his friends ( with a heavy treatment, you could not make out who the picture came from ) and he had sign releases from the ones who agreed, they were kept in a file along with the books detailing where every single one of the signed and number prints had been sold. Does this mean you're going to be sued, or get a cease and desist letter, probably not, but the world is getting crazier every day. Last year I wrote a local animal park seeking permission to use my photo's in a commercial setting, they politely turned me down. And it was a featured issue on their website. And a co-worker had worked up a photo he had taken at a private Alaskan park and had to stop work on it because they refused to give permission for commercial work. Bosses treatment: https://www.wayfair.com/decor-pillows/pdp/alcott-hill-rocky-mountain-riding-in-color-by-mitchell-mansanarez-w005302807.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Fengstad Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 I am getting a headache thinking about all this. I buy scroll patterns, I use free patterns, I modify patterns and i get ideas from picture. heck I even scrolled a race car from a picture. I don't intentionally infringe on some ones copy right. JJB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappile Posted March 19 Report Share Posted March 19 You can see from the date of the first post this discussion has been going on since before I have started scrolling. Some things are marked as saying so or watermarked. The thing that makes it even harder is copyright seem to be much more important or monitored from one country to another. So who knows. I do not worry nor so I have to. I do not sell. Mainly because I can't even give away what I make. Norm Fengstad and JJB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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