Famous Sports People Caricatures

'Is it legal', 'can I do this' type questions and discussions.
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peletoons
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Famous Sports People Caricatures

Post by peletoons »

Hi all,

My apologies if this topic has been covered elsewhere - I have searched but can't find anything similar.

I am producing satirical caricatures and cartoons of famous sports people to sell in a book.

What are the legalities of this? I see caricatures in magazines and newspapers all the time - is it legal?

Thanks in advance

Peletoons
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AndyJ
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Post by AndyJ »

Hi peletoons,
There shouldn't be any problems about doing this. There is an exception to copyright law expressly designed for the use of caricature (you can find it here). To qualify as a caricature the drawing etc must have some element of humour or mockery but beyond that, pretty much anything goes.
Clearly if you go too far there is a slight danger of defamation, but this is pretty remote with satire and caricuture because such expressions will inevitably be opinions rather than statements of fact, and thus the modern law of defamation would not be engaged.
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
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