Copyright in a Collage Members  

If you undertake collage or montage work and this involves incorporating other people's artwork, how do you know if you are infringing their copyright? Collage is not an easy area on which to advise, as each situation needs to be judged on its own facts. However, you can ask yourself a few questions, which could provide a safety net. Ruth Gladwin advises.

Is any part of the work in copyright?

You should be safe if you are incorporating images which are no longer in copyright into your collage. The life of copyright in an artwork is 70 years. The 70 years starts running from the date of the creator`s death. If the work is definitely out of copyright then you are free to use it. If the work is in copyright then ask yourself another question. Is the image you plan to use an exact copy of the original? There is no copyright on an idea, only the form it takes. If, therefore