Copyright applies to… Art

Copyright applies to original artistic works such as paintings, drawings, engravings, sculptures, photographs, diagrams, maps, works of architecture and works of artistic craftsmanship.

So, for example, cartoon characters may have copyright protection and if you wish to copy the characters onto cakes, wallpaper and so on, you will almost certainly need a licence to do this to avoid infringing copyright.

If you wish to use or copy copyright protected artistic works you may need the permission for the rights holder, unless copyright exceptions apply.

As for drawing of articles to be mass-produced, there will only be copyright in the article made to the design in the drawing if the article itself is an artistic work, including something that could be called a work of artistic craftsmanship.

However, design right protection might exist for such an industrially produced item even if there is no copyright and applying for a registered design is another possibility.

If you want to reproduce existing Royal emblems such as Coats of Arms External Link on any souvenirs, you will need permission from the Lord Chamberlain’s Office.

Duration and ownership

The creator of the work will be the author and first owner and copyright will last for life of the author plus 70 years.

Copyright is, however, a form of intellectual property which, like physical property, can be bought or sold, inherited or otherwise transferred, wholly or in part. So, some or all of the economic rights may subsequently belong to someone other than the first owner.