Copyright Question

[natimage]

If I buy a clipart cd with royalty free images...am I then allowed to use the images on that cd at my will, however I please?

 

Do I have to leave them in their original state to make use of them, or can I change them to suit my needs?

[btrfld]

Hi Tracy.

 

In my (limited) experience, royalty free means you can indeed use them as you will in your application. If there's a requirement about giving credit or something it should be clearly stated on the cd you got.

 

As far as altering images, I don't know. Seems to me if you start with a royalty free image with no express restrictions, and then alter it, you've essentially made a new thing, and it's yours. But I'm certainly no expert, so maybe someone with more experience will chime in.

[annie]

If you alter them, they become part of a montage, or a composite.

 

The composition is yours, but you're using parts that don't belong to you.

 

I don't remember exactly how copyright is attributed in those cases.

[Head Guru]

In most cases you would 'not' be allowed to alter the images and then resell them for a profit. Royalty Free means that the copy holder is not collecting fees in realtion to the use of his/her copyrighted material. It does not mean that the image is not copyrighted.

[natimage]

Thanks, All!! I just wanted to clarify before I infringed on accident!!

[bellringr]

As I understand it, unless they say otherwise, you can alter the image, but you cannot use the images in a collection as your "own" images. In other words, you can't have a clip art collection on your site for download that includes their images.

[natimage]

I wasn't wanting to use it as "my own" clipart. I incorporated an image into a logo I was designing. Most clip-art I don't like...but this happened to work pretty well. Anyway...I'm trying to draw my own now. Just hard to do with a trackball mouse!!!

 

Thanks for all the input!