Hi there,
I am interested in using the old Will patrons kindly refrain from... swimming pool poster on a range of products.
It dates from the 1970's / 80's and I am unsure of it's copyright status and whether I could reproduce it without infringement.
CIMSPA claim they own the copyright and say the image can only be licensed from them. However they were only founded in 2011 so I don't see how they can claim to own the copyright on the poster?
Can anyone suggest where I can get independent clarification on it's copyright?
Thanks in advance
Mark
Will patrons kindly refrain from... swimming poster.
Hi markymark,
I'm not entirely sure which poster you are referring to. I assume it's probably this one
(Image source: CIMSPA website. Quoted here under section 30 (1) & (1ZA) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988)
since it appears on the CIMSPA website, and not the obviously much older one shown here
On the basis that it is the first one, I'm not sure why you doubt that CIMSPA owns the copyright, assuming of course that it is still protected by copyright. But given that the artwork appears to be from second half* of the last century, I think it highly probable that copyright still applies.
CIMSPA could have bought or inherited the rights to the poster from an earlier organisation, so the fact that they were only formed in 2011 doesn't mean they couldn't own the rights. I suggest you contact them for an explanation. See if they can supply the name of the artist, since any copyright will be based on his date of death (assuming he has actually died of course). If they don't know that information, then it might prompt the further question of what documentary evidence they do have to show that they own the copyright.
Interestingly, when checking Google images on this subject, I noted that there were several parodies of the 'CIMSPA' poster. Obviously I don't know whether the authors of these got permission first.
*based on the fact the girl is wearing a bikini, which wasn't invented until 1946.
I'm not entirely sure which poster you are referring to. I assume it's probably this one
(Image source: CIMSPA website. Quoted here under section 30 (1) & (1ZA) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988)
since it appears on the CIMSPA website, and not the obviously much older one shown here
On the basis that it is the first one, I'm not sure why you doubt that CIMSPA owns the copyright, assuming of course that it is still protected by copyright. But given that the artwork appears to be from second half* of the last century, I think it highly probable that copyright still applies.
CIMSPA could have bought or inherited the rights to the poster from an earlier organisation, so the fact that they were only formed in 2011 doesn't mean they couldn't own the rights. I suggest you contact them for an explanation. See if they can supply the name of the artist, since any copyright will be based on his date of death (assuming he has actually died of course). If they don't know that information, then it might prompt the further question of what documentary evidence they do have to show that they own the copyright.
Interestingly, when checking Google images on this subject, I noted that there were several parodies of the 'CIMSPA' poster. Obviously I don't know whether the authors of these got permission first.
*based on the fact the girl is wearing a bikini, which wasn't invented until 1946.
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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Nick Cooper
- Senior Member
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- Joined: Sun Jun 30, 2013 9:56 am