[Clipart] clipart Digest, Vol 60, Issue 39

[John Olsen]

I suspect she got this legal stuff from similar resources such as  
Dover Books.  They know that the material they are publishing cannot  
be copyrighted by them.  What they can copyright is any original  
additions such as editorial or layout.  So they protect that.  Similar  
to cookbooks where recipes (at least in the US) are considered  
instructions and not copyrightable.  But the layout of the book and  
the stories that lead into the recipe can be protected.   Dover books  
says you cannot use more than 5 items at one time.  Maybe some lawyer  
can tell us if any of this is tested or if it is just a legal gambit.

John Olsen


On Mar 23, 2009, at 5:43 PM, clipart-request at lists.freedesktop.org  
wrote:

>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:43:19 +1300
> From: chovynz <chovynz at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Clipart] Karen's Whimsey
> To: clipart at lists.freedesktop.org
> Message-ID:
> 	<9fc7fe2a0903231743i26b466daqa052a4ca6002f903 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Hi All
>
> I've been looking at this site a bit more in depth.
> http://karenswhimsy.com
>
> Correct me if I'm wrong but she can't actually claim or put any  
> restrictions
> on what people do with her artwork, since she clearly states they  
> are in the
> public domain already. It seems to me she is contravening the entire  
> PD
> "copyright" intention by stating (
> http://karenswhimsy.com/image-ordering.shtm#terms) :
>
> *You may: Use the images in traditional and digital mixed-media to
> reproduce, display and sell your artworks by any means.
>
> You may: Use the images multiple times without having to pay a  
> royalty.
>
> You may not: Redistribute the images in whole or as part of another  
> design
> resource. This includes, but is not limited to, patterns, CD's,  
> collage
> sheets, rubber stamps, web templates, and themes.
>
> Bottom Line: Do not take advantage of the hard work, time, and money  
> I have
> invested in order to provide these images for people online by  
> stealing the
> images and giving them away or selling them elsewhere. If you want  
> to use
> the images without the minimal and fair restrictions outined above,  
> then buy
> the original source material yourself and do what you want with the  
> images
> located therein.
>
> *She would probably include Open Clipart Library in the "design"  
> resource.
> Of course she can sell it herself. Of course she can do what she  
> likes with
> them, but she does not own the copyright over these public domain  
> images,
> and so, cannot say "You may not use them this or that way. You may  
> not sell
> them."
>
> I'd like some thoughts and advice on grabbing some clipart from her  
> site. Is
> it one we should avoid? Or is it worthwhile grabbing those public  
> domain
> things from her site? Do we want to ask permission for some of them?  
> I know
> we don't need to, but is it ethical to ask? I don't know about this  
> one, as
> it's not clear who would be "in the right". Do we for simplicity's  
> sake just
> leave her alone? Or do we risk getting a name of "thieves" by taking  
> things,
> that she legally has no hold over anyway.
>
>
> -- 
> Cheers
> Chovynz

"I blame Al-Jazeera - they are marketing for the Americans!" -  
Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf