Napkins for decoupage
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Evelyn244937!
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Napkins for decoupage
If there is no manufacturer or artist name on the napkin does that mean it is copyright free? Thanks
Re: Napkins for decoupage
Hi Evelyn and welcome to the forum,
No, there is no legal requirement for an article to carry a copyright notice in order to gain copyright. Provided that it can be said to be an artistic work which is original, then copyright comes into being at the time the work is made. And lasts for the lifetime of the person who created it and 70 years after their death. The key word here is 'original'. This means that the work must express the creativity of the person who made it , and so cannot be something which was copied or was already so commonplace that the artist was not expressing themself in a free and unrestrained manner.
However, if your intention is merely to apply decoupage techniques to a paper napkin, you would not be copying the work. You would be covered by a doctrine known as the exhaustion of rights, which means that once a copy of work has been legitimately sold or given away, the copyright owner's right to control what happens to that particular copy of the work ceases (it is exhausted). Thus you can scribble on top of it, burn it, give it away or in your case, cut it up to make a new work.
No, there is no legal requirement for an article to carry a copyright notice in order to gain copyright. Provided that it can be said to be an artistic work which is original, then copyright comes into being at the time the work is made. And lasts for the lifetime of the person who created it and 70 years after their death. The key word here is 'original'. This means that the work must express the creativity of the person who made it , and so cannot be something which was copied or was already so commonplace that the artist was not expressing themself in a free and unrestrained manner.
However, if your intention is merely to apply decoupage techniques to a paper napkin, you would not be copying the work. You would be covered by a doctrine known as the exhaustion of rights, which means that once a copy of work has been legitimately sold or given away, the copyright owner's right to control what happens to that particular copy of the work ceases (it is exhausted). Thus you can scribble on top of it, burn it, give it away or in your case, cut it up to make a new work.
Advice or comment provided here is not and does not purport to be legal advice as defined by s.12 of Legal Services Act 2007