Hello - I'm writing a book on 1960s and 1970s audio equipment and have a collection of sales brochures that I would like to use images of.
Would these images be subject to copyright? I am aware of a self publish author who is writing a book based upon car brochures from the same era so was wondering about this. If they are copyrighted how much would I reasonably expect to pay for each image? Thank you!
Are 1960s-70s UK Promotional Brochures for a Book Copyrighted
Re: Are 1960s-70s UK Promotional Brochures for a Book Copyrighted
Hi RHowell and welcome,
Yes the images will be subject to copyright, and so you need to get permisssion to use them from the companies in whose brochures they feature. I doubt if there will be any charge for this. If you have difficulty in tracking down any of the companies because they've ceased trading and you don't know who might have acquired their intellectual property rights (for example, any trade marks), you can search the trade mark register held by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and find the old company address or that of their agents for trade mark purposes.
For example, as you know the Japanese company Akai went into administration in 2000 and its branding was bought by a Hong Kong company called Grande Holdings. By using the IPO trade mark search facility you can find the following information about the current owners and their agents Akai search results.
However if you still reach a deadend and can't find someone to give you permission, you be may be able to get what is know as an orphan works licence from the IPO, which will indemnify you against any future claim for copyright infringement. You can read more about orphan works licensing here. You can group together up to 30 separate photos/illustrations in one application which will save money on fees.
Although you will be doing a review or critique of the equipment (as opposed to the brochures themselves) the exception to copyright law found in section 30 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 will not be applicable since the wording of the section specifies that it only applies where the subject of any criticism/review is 'another work', meaning one which is subject to copyright, which of course audio equipment is not. Similarly, another exception found in section 29 CDPA for the purpose of reearch, is also of no use to you as it cannot be used where the research is to be commercially published. However this exception does apply while you are compiling your research, so for instance you can scan the brochures and produce the digital images ready for later publication.
One final thought. It is possible that some of the images were used in wider publicity campaigns and magazine reviews etc and as such they may have found their way into a picture agency such Getty or Shutterstock. If you have made digital images of the illustrations you wish to use, it might be wise to do a reverse image search (using Google Images or Tineye for example) to see where else the images have been used and if anyone is claiming to provide licensed copies.
I hope this answers your question.
Yes the images will be subject to copyright, and so you need to get permisssion to use them from the companies in whose brochures they feature. I doubt if there will be any charge for this. If you have difficulty in tracking down any of the companies because they've ceased trading and you don't know who might have acquired their intellectual property rights (for example, any trade marks), you can search the trade mark register held by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and find the old company address or that of their agents for trade mark purposes.
For example, as you know the Japanese company Akai went into administration in 2000 and its branding was bought by a Hong Kong company called Grande Holdings. By using the IPO trade mark search facility you can find the following information about the current owners and their agents Akai search results.
However if you still reach a deadend and can't find someone to give you permission, you be may be able to get what is know as an orphan works licence from the IPO, which will indemnify you against any future claim for copyright infringement. You can read more about orphan works licensing here. You can group together up to 30 separate photos/illustrations in one application which will save money on fees.
Although you will be doing a review or critique of the equipment (as opposed to the brochures themselves) the exception to copyright law found in section 30 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 will not be applicable since the wording of the section specifies that it only applies where the subject of any criticism/review is 'another work', meaning one which is subject to copyright, which of course audio equipment is not. Similarly, another exception found in section 29 CDPA for the purpose of reearch, is also of no use to you as it cannot be used where the research is to be commercially published. However this exception does apply while you are compiling your research, so for instance you can scan the brochures and produce the digital images ready for later publication.
One final thought. It is possible that some of the images were used in wider publicity campaigns and magazine reviews etc and as such they may have found their way into a picture agency such Getty or Shutterstock. If you have made digital images of the illustrations you wish to use, it might be wise to do a reverse image search (using Google Images or Tineye for example) to see where else the images have been used and if anyone is claiming to provide licensed copies.
I hope this answers your question.
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
Re: Are 1960s-70s UK Promotional Brochures for a Book Copyrighted
Hello Andy
Thank you Andy your reply is incredibly helpful and very much appreciated!
You've answered questions I didn't know I had and pointed me in the right direction.
The issue of copyright has put me off writing books for years, so this matters a lot to me.
Warm Regards Richard
Thank you Andy your reply is incredibly helpful and very much appreciated!
You've answered questions I didn't know I had and pointed me in the right direction.
The issue of copyright has put me off writing books for years, so this matters a lot to me.
Warm Regards Richard