Copyright for Collages on this Site

A great deal of thought and research has gone into determining exactly how copyright and intellectual property laws affect my collage work. I hope this will answer any questions or concerns you may have!

Collage or montage is a very sticky subject because by its nature, it is nearly always a derivative work of someone's copyrighted material. And by strictly interpreted intellectual property law, unless the artist of the derivative is the same as the original copyright owner, they do not have the right to create a derivative work. Of course, we know that collage as an art form perseveres despite the law!

So how can I create collages? Every one of my collages are designed using royalty-free images, which have been paid for. What is a royalty-free image? Well, it is an image which has been sold with the right to use an unlimited number of times in projects. In most cases, these collages are my own creations from images I've bought through my membership in Photos.com. Photos.com specifically allows for use in products, including those intended for sale and this is how I am able to create collage art and sell merchandise.

HOWEVER - despite the fact that these works of art are created by me as an artist, the fact that they ARE derivative works under the law means I cannot copyright the resulting photo collages if they bear a resemblance to the photos they are derived from. Therefore, whenever there is any doubt, I will not copyright my designs. But be warned! Just because I've not copyrighted it here does not mean you can just grab them to use, copyright or license them yourself!

For those collages which do not in any way resemble the photos that were used as source material, I do claim the copyright.

Photos.com allows its royalty-free photos to be used as design elements in marketing materials and web sites as I have done in the business collages gallery, but if you require a collage which you CAN copyright or license, then you would have to provide either original photographs and/or the license to use them the way you wish. We can discuss this on a case by case basis, and of course, involve lawyers if necessary!

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Contact Eileen at 518-505-6617 or email

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