What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
I run a newspaper in San Antonio, TX. I'm fifteen years of age. I am looking to put comics in the newspaper and I'm not sure what the copyright laws are regarding comics. Some additional information, I run a school newspaper.
As a most general rule, whenever you want to use copyrighted material belonging to someone else, you will need to get permission from the copyright holder first or risk an infringement action. But you have not provided enough information in your post to say whether your use of comics in the school newspaper would be seen as infringing on the rights of the copyright holders or, instead, seen as a "fair use" of the material.
What sort of comics do you intend to use and for what purpose?
For example, there were many reprints of a cartoon originally published by Charlie Hebdo that was critical of Muhammad, the cartoon of which led to a terrorist attack. Reprints of the cartoon by several publications around the world, including in the US, fell under US copyright law's fair use doctrine. That is because the cartoon was the subject of comment or criticism of the work itself or used in the course of news reporting on the cartoon's role in the terrorist attack.
If this is a school-run newspaper, the school should be familiar not only with copyright laws but also the laws that govern free expression by students in school papers. That said, the fact that the school SHOULD be familiar with these laws does not mean that it is. I can provide links to some school newspaper court decisions later - and it would be nice if you could expand a bit on your intended use of the comics.
