Copyright Issues on Skwiggles Designs
I occasionally get questions about copyright on the drawings that I do. The last thing I want to do is use someone’s work without permission, so I’ve tried to be careful in sticking to copyright law., even though sometimes it’s not totally clear. So, these are the rules I try to stick to.
Images
Inspiration for the drawings usually comes from many different sources. I get photographs from customers, and have their permission to use them, I use my own photographs, I use Creative Commons photographs, and Google Advanced Image Search with usage rights Creative Commons licences only.
The only Creative Commons licences I use are
CC0 (aka CC Zero) is a public dedication tool, which allows creators to give up their copyright and put their works into the worldwide public domain. CC0 allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, with no conditions.
CC BY: This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.
CC BY-SA: This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.
If there is an image that I can’t find the owner of the copyright, I will put a note on the webpage to say this. If the person who owns the copyright, or if anyone knows who that person might be, if they could let me know I will contact them to ask permission. If the copyright holder doesn’t give permission I will take the image off the website.
If you have reason to think I have used an image without permission, let me know and I’ll look into it.
Quotes and Lyrics
All the quotes I use are either my own or usually lyrics or titles of songs. Titles of songs don’t fall under copyright law, and the quotes I use are kept short, or are well know anthems, so also fall outside copyright law.
Films and TV Shows
Other images I use, say from films and tv shows, I try to alter and make into a caricature for comedic effect. According to gov.uk it is permitted to use limited amounts of copyrighted material for the purposes of parody, caricature and pastiche.
My sketches
As well as all the above, I never copy anything directly and make an exact reproduction.
My sketches have a style that is unique to me. I came up with the name Skwiggles, because I’ve always been a skwiggler, starting from when I was bored in maths at school 700 years ago. I just use the photos, usually multiple photos, as reference in order to make a unique product.
The end product is unlike any of the reference material I use.
Get in touch
Please let me know if you think any of the images you see on the website fall outside the guidelines outlined above.
Thank you,
Ian