Defunct Clipart Program/Collections

copywright dates considered? is royalty free the sme thing over there?

I have no idea regarding copyright dates. The software itself shows copyrights 1997-2001, but nothing mentioned about the artwork. If someone owns the rights, they may have extended the dates for the software and/or the clipart.

Getty, the last owner of Hemera/Jupiterimages, says only "I'm sorry, but "The Big Box of Art", Version 3.5 is not the data we sell, so we have no way to check if the license is still valid. Therefore, we are unable to answer whether it can be used for your desired purpose."

Royalty-free usually means a one-time purchase of the right to use a graphic for some specific purpose without having to pay further royalties each time the image is used. It could be commercial, or one-time use, or for publications. The rights purchased can be for a limited time, or indefinite. It could be for limited or unlimited use.

It's complicated and messy when the company no longer exists, and no-one seems to acknowledge the rights to the program.

I hope someone out there has publishing experience and can direct me to a source of safe and reliable information regarding this dilemma. All the digital clipart I want to use is in this program, all in one place. Searching for the individual pieces on-line would take forever. Plus I could be faced with a fee (sometimes hundreds of dollars -- per item!) for commercial rights.

Just going ahead and using them regardless, I could find myself slapped with a copyright lawsuit anytime between publication date and years from now...

You could ask a copyright lawyer. Presumably you'd have to pay, but since it would be a brief consultation the bill probably wouldn't be astronomical.

Another thought: Could you buy a more modern version of this same sort of program? That might serve your purposes equally as well, and you would be able to clarify your standing regarding rights.

You purchased the rights to use the images from the original company. You have the rights to those versions of the artwork as outlined in the original contract. It should state if you can use the images commercially.

Hi Folks, looks like I'm out of luck with this...

Borderbund, which publishes the famous Printmaster series (Printmaster Gold, Silver, Platinum, Deluxe, etc.) sent the following, stating that this applies to their property, but is a very common License Agreement used by most graphics and clip-art distributors.

In it we find (beside the usual copyright information on the software itself):

~~~~~
All content contained in the Software, including, but not limited to characters, designs, text, photos, clip art, fonts, graphics, templates, sounds, videos and projects contained in the Software (the “Properties”) are either owned by or used under license by Riverdeep and are protected under trademark, copyright, and other applicable laws. Any and all unauthorized use of the Properties is strictly prohibited. You may not sell any Property or any item containing or carrying a copy of any Property. Subject to the restrictions described below, you may make copies of the Properties for use in home entertainment and projects, for educational purposes, in advertisements, public or private presentations, business communications, multimedia presentations, and other similar uses. For example, subject to the restrictions described below, you may use the Properties to create posters, stationery, greeting cards, signs, invitations, calendars, reports, catalogs, brochures and newsletters.
~~~~~
(Among the restrictions we find these:)
~~~~~
YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO:
Sell any item on which any Property is copied or otherwise printed.
~~~~~

So, it's pretty clear that I can use BBoA for fun school projects and newsletters, etc., as I have been, but not for any item that it being sold -- including publications such as books, etc.

Apparently it doesn't matter if the company is defunct or not, unless the present owners of the software specifically states that the Property (artwork) has been released to the public domain and/or is free for commercial use without attribution.

So, last night I found several sites that offer "free for commercial use" and attribution-free clip-art. I'll just have to spend some time looking through them and finding something equal to the great stuff in the BBoA program, I guess.

Thanks everybody, for your help and suggestions. If you are on the verge of publishing, I hope this helps you with any illustration questions you might have, too.

At least you found out now instead of using it and getting sued.