Copyright Aid

Hi, can anyone help with this , i download stencils of singers/ actors and then cut the image out onto wood , then frame them , i am a crafter who does these in my shed, is it ok for me to sell a few cuttings of these items, im not sure about copyright or infringement issues , any help would be great many thanks steve.

Hi xxsteve,

Do the stencils come with any specific terms of use? If there is any copyright involved here it is probably in the stencils themselves as artistic works. I think there is an implied licence for you, as the purchaser of the stencils, to use them as you wish, unless there is some stipulation which came with the product that they shouldn't be used for commercial purposes. I imagine they originate in China, so there was probably no thought given to such terms.

There is a possibility that the person who made the stencils based them on a photograph without getting permission, but I think you would be absolved of any liability if that was the case as you would be a secondary user, and copyright law says that unless you knew that the stencils were infringing articles, you would not be liable for damages (see section 23 CDPA).

Hi Andy I will look into the stencils I download to see the terms of use , most say public domain free stencils but I never thought to look at what the usage was. Many thanks for helping