Copyright on old magazines

[crochet smartcat]

I just received some old Workbasket magazines from 1950-1970. Does anyone know if it is okay for me to share the patterns for free, without breaking copyright laws, or does it depend on each individual pattern?

 

I'm not looking to open a debate about copyright law, I am just wondering if there is a time limit on magazines or not.

[threeolivemartini]

honestly you would need to contact the publisher to make certain .. period..

i wouldnt do it with out doing that first..

[Pink]

Excellent advice, Elizabeth. That is the only way to be 100% sure.

[crochet smartcat]

Thank you, that is what I figured, I was just wondering if there was a rule of thumb, but I guess not.

[natalie058]

Actually, there is a rule of thumb when it comes to copyright expirations - I recently did some research into this regarding some of my vintage mags. Check out this post I wrote on it - there are links for sources at the bottom.

 

ETA - It may take some hunting to find out which ones, but it's possible that the earlier patterns of yours may now be in the public domain.

[Her]

Vogue Knitting Winter 2005/2006 has an article "A matter of Principle" by Lance D. Reich which is about Copyright and knitting (which of course can be translated to Crochet, Cross stitch, etc.). It's a great article as he is an intellectual property lawyer and the husband of a knitter.

He listed some links:

U.S. Copyright Office

Fair Use Guides

 

and more. Hope this helps.