Book Cover

[EdwardFigg]

I wish to use a world war two poster for the cover of my book and remove the wording and replace it with the title and the author's name. This is the poster from 1939/40. https://eng410wwiilit.commons.gc.cuny.e ... n-service/ Is it still under copyright? If not I would like to acknowledge it by adding inside the book, the copyright , which I think is from Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO).

[AndyJ]

Hi EdwardFigg,

As the poster was produced by the government, Crown copyright will apply. At that time (around 1939-1940) the term for Crown copyright was 50 years from the date of first publication, and so this poster would probably have entered the public domain around the end of 1990 or 1991. Neither the subsequent 1956 Copyright Act, not the 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents Act changed this post-publication term.

Since it is out of copyright, a credit is not strictly necessary, but it would do no harm to include a reference to the source, without any mention of copyright, if you wished.

[EdwardFigg]

Ok.Thank you very much for that. So there is no problem in changing the wording?

[AndyJ]

Hi again,

Yes, once something is out of copyright, you are free to change or adapt it as you wish.