Hi everyone!
I have been thinking of putting some snippets, ie. a line, a small paragraph, of poetry or quote from long dead poets, or authors, on some of my designs. I know anything prior to the 1920's is usually okay ( I think that's right!)...so what do you think?
Is there a website in which I can easily check out whether quotations, and or poets are fair game or not?

Thankyou in advance,
ArtisanOption
http://www.cafepress.com/artisanoption

"Fair Use" is a defense to infringement. Using a snippet is infringement. Whether it is allowed depends upon whether the use meets the requirements for "fair use." You can do some reading on "Fair Use" and decide whether you are comfortable with the legal risks of being wrong.
http://www.tutortanith.com/resources4.htm#law

CUP acts on policy that avoids the risk of litigation so you may not be allowed to do something that you might win in court.

Only an IP attorney could tell you for sure, so although I have a little bar card and everything, this isn't legal advice. (I have to say that.)

In the US, there are different rules depending on when something was first published, but if it was published before 1920 or so, you're probably okay. So Edgar Alan Poe's poems are in the public domain. Anything later than that depends on when it was published and when the author died. For example--Robert Frost's poems are not in the public domain yet.

I actually use a lot of poetry in my designs, and just to be safe, I never use a poem by someone who died later than 1920, which still leaves a lot of options. I've used Shakespeare, Poe, Burns, Longfellow, and a lot of others.

If I find a poem I like, and I'm unsure of when the author died, I can usually find out on Wikipedia or by just googling them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jmatthew,

Thankyou both for your replies.

I checked out your link Tanith, and apparently "copyright has expired for all works published in the U.S. before 1923".
This means January 1st of 1923.

Of course I will be very careful of what I choose. There is a great deal of useful information there if I get stuck!

Thanks also to you jmatthew for your input. That is what I thought....I have seen many items for sale outside of CP in regular stores, which have long,long,long dead poets/authors words on them.

I would of course check out the date of death, and when last published etc.
In any case this probably won't be a large part of my designs, I may make up some of my own stuff! I'm pretty sure people who died in previous centuries are safe...!

Any other input is or course more than welcome.

Thankyou again,
ArtisanOption

There is a tripping point. Copyright is not the only consideration. This situation is rare, but has affected people here:
http://www.physics.princeton.edu/~trothman/Who%20Owns%20Einstein.htm

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15198298

The issues discussed have come up relative to several well known figures.

Hi again!

Thanks for the added info., I understand your point, however I have no intention of using any celebrity images....especially the types in your examples, that first of all haven't been dead 70+ years,and secondly have such famous personas that their images, are probably licensed.
I did read somewhere on this site that even the name Albert Einstein was trademarked (or something!), and a SK was asked to remove same.

I will however look into this further, and make sure before I do anything. I am not looking for trouble, and will only use something I know is in the public domain.

Thanks again for the advice,
Artisan