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Question:
Is everything published before 1920 out of copyright?
Answer:
It is wrong to assume that material is out of copyright simply because it is old. Copyright in the cartoons on the BCA website lasts for the lifetime of the cartoonist, plus seventy years. A cartoon by Will Dyson, published in 1937, will thus be out of copyright, because he died in 1938. But a cartoon by David Low from 1910 will remain in copyright until the beginning of 2034, because he lived until 1963.
The BCA has obtained permission to display copyright cartoons on its catalogue, but cannot give permission for their use in other contexts. The cartoonists’ biographies included in the BCA catalogue will indicate whether their work remains in copyright, by showing if they are still alive or died less than seventy years ago. You can then find contact information for the copyright owner by going to the catalogue record for an individual cartoon, and clicking the “Additional details” tab beneath it.
Cartoon of the day
Dave Brown
The Independent
20 Sep 1996
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