can famous names on t shirts be copyright infringement?

[tmnorice]

What is the name of your state? Hi, Arizona here.
I'm creating tees to sale online and thought of a grand idea to promote certain authors names that I personally respect, along with quotes from some of their written materials and/or details on the author themselves. Most of them are deceased, I checked; and as for the ones that are still alive, I've reached out to their publishing companies to contact them in order to get permission to use their names but haven't heard back.
Can anyone give some insight on what my next steps should be? What are the guidelines for use of a deceased persons name and birth/death date, for instance? Or any organization the person may have begun and its years of operation. Does death open the door for free use? How do I find out if an estate is operating for the deceased author? Also, what about now defunct organizations? Can I use their names now that they are no longer in operation or do I need permission and, if so, from whom do I get it?

Thanks in advance..look forward to detailed replies.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? Hi, Arizona here.
I'm creating tees to sale online and thought of a grand idea to promote certain authors names that I personally respect, along with quotes from some of their written materials and/or details on the author themselves. Most of them are deceased, I checked; and as for the ones that are still alive, I've reached out to their publishing companies to contact them in order to get permission to use their names but haven't heard back.
Can anyone give some insight on what my next steps should be? What are the guidelines for use of a deceased persons name and birth/death date, for instance? Or any organization the person may have begun and its years of operation. Does death open the door for free use? How do I find out if an estate is operating for the deceased author? Also, what about now defunct organizations? Can I use their names now that they are no longer in operation or do I need permission and, if so, from whom do I get it?

Thanks in advance..look forward to detailed replies.

For dead authors, what you can and can’t use in a commercial venture first depends on their dates of death and second depends on if there are existing estate rights.

In the U.S., material published before 1924 is in the public domain and free to use, from a copyright perspective. If you find a William Shakespeare quote, you can use it without worry of infringing on a copyright.

Images of William Shakespeare, however, might be copyright-protected and you would need permission from the rights holders before you could use them.

Estate rights can exist even if the author no longer does, so you would need permission from the estate to use either images or text.

Research is needed to determine what rights may still attach to each author and/or his works. There is no way to avoid this. You must investigate copyrights, trademark rights, publicity rights and privacy rights.

If you cannot locate information on an author, or if you cannot reach a rights-holder, and if you cannot acquire necessary permissions, you are better off not using that author or his work in your own work.

For a good article on postmortem rights, following is a link to an article by Erik W. Kahn and Pou-I “Bonnie” Lee titled “Delebs and Postmortem Right of Publicity,” republished by the American Bar Association.

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/intellectual_property_law/publications/landslide/2015-16/january-february/delebs_and_postmortem_right_publicity/

Good luck with your tee shirt business.

 

[zddoodah]

as for the ones that are still alive, I've reached out to their publishing companies to contact them in order to get permission to use their names but haven't heard back.

"Their publishing companies" likely have no right to license the use of the authors' names.

Can anyone give some insight on what my next steps should be?

Yes. Find a business that isn't premised on capitalizing on the efforts and notoriety of others.

What are the guidelines for use of a deceased persons name and birth/death date, for instance?

Depends on the context.

Does death open the door for free use?

As to copyright-protected material, no. Any work created since January 1, 1978 is protected by copyright for the life of the author plus 70 years. Prior works may or may not still be protected, but some works going back to the mid-1920s are still under copyright. Names are a more difficult proposition because laws vary from state-to-state and country-to-country. However, in at least some U.S. states, a person's death does not necessarily allow for unlicensed use of his/her name, likeness, etc.

How do I find out if an estate is operating for the deceased author?

There's no way to answer this question in the abstract.

Also, what about now defunct organizations?

Not sure what you're getting at.

 

[quincy]

"Their publishing companies" likely have no right to license the use of the authors' names.




Yes. Find a business that isn't premised on capitalizing on the efforts and notoriety of others.




Depends on the context.




As to copyright-protected material, no. Any work created since January 1, 1978 is protected by copyright for the life of the author plus 70 years. Prior works may or may not still be protected, but some works going back to the mid-1920s are still under copyright. Names are a more difficult proposition because laws vary from state-to-state and country-to-country. However, in at least some U.S. states, a person's death does not necessarily allow for unlicensed use of his/her name, likeness, etc.




There's no way to answer this question in the abstract.




Not sure what you're getting at.

Generally publishing companies have been granted some exclusive rights in the works of the authors they represent so it is important for anyone wishing to use material from published texts to get permission (a license) from the publishing companies before using the authors’ material.

 

[tmnorice]

"Their publishing companies" likely have no right to license the use of the authors' names.




Yes. Find a business that isn't premised on capitalizing on the efforts and notoriety of others.




Depends on the context.




As to copyright-protected material, no. Any work created since January 1, 1978 is protected by copyright for the life of the author plus 70 years. Prior works may or may not still be protected, but some works going back to the mid-1920s are still under copyright. Names are a more difficult proposition because laws vary from state-to-state and country-to-country. However, in at least some U.S. states, a person's death does not necessarily allow for unlicensed use of his/her name, likeness, etc.




There's no way to answer this question in the abstract.




Not sure what you're getting at.

Thank you for responses. I must say, that all that we've learned and do in business today is somehow based on our capitalizing on the efforts and notoriety of those before us. Again, thanks.

 

[tmnorice]

For dead authors, what you can and can’t use in a commercial venture first depends on their dates of death and second depends on if there are existing estate rights.

In the U.S., material published before 1924 is in the public domain and free to use, from a copyright perspective. If you find a William Shakespeare quote, you can use it without worry of infringing on a copyright.

Images of William Shakespeare, however, might be copyright-protected and you would need permission from the rights holders before you could use them.

Estate rights can exist even if the author no longer does, so you would need permission from the estate to use either images or text.

Research is needed to determine what rights may still attach to each author and/or his works. There is no way to avoid this. You must investigate copyrights, trademark rights, publicity rights and privacy rights.

If you cannot locate information on an author, or if you cannot reach a rights-holder, and if you cannot acquire necessary permissions, you are better off not using that author or his work in your own work.

For a good article on postmortem rights, following is a link to an article by Erik W. Kahn and Pou-I “Bonnie” Lee titled “Delebs and Postmortem Right of Publicity,” republished by the American Bar Association.

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/intellectual_property_law/publications/landslide/2015-16/january-february/delebs_and_postmortem_right_publicity/

Good luck with your tee shirt business.

Thank you.

 

[tmnorice]

Generally publishing companies have been granted some exclusive rights in the works of the authors they represent so it is important for anyone wishing to use material from published texts to get permission (a license) from the publishing companies before using the authors’ material.

Thank you.

 

[quincy]

Thank you.

You’re welcome, tmnorice. I appreciate the thanks.

Good luck.