Images of tartans

[smcclure]

I am in the process of developing some digital scrapbooking pages. Am I able to copy images of the plaids to use as background "paper" or embed into objects (embellishments) such as a thistle design I created without copyright infringement?

I checked the Scottish Tartan Registry very thoroughly looking to see if there was any statement to this effect, since digital scrapbooking has some very specific regulations regarding digital scrapbooking copyright infringement. I have spent many hours trying to find specific information and thought this forum might be helpful.

[Thomas H]

This might help for some nice pictures of Tartan

http://www.tartanscrapbooks.com/catalog/i95.html

[smcclure]

Thank you Thomas for the link to Tartan Scrapbooks, I did not see any mention of copyright on their site which leads me to believe that it might be difficult to claim a copyright on an image of a tartan. The registration of a tartan is a different matter.

[Thomas H]

Your welcome , The pictures are very clear too .I would just buy some and use them as I pleased . Once you buy the paper what you do with it is
up to you . I copyed and pasted from this site for my Ferguson ancient
Tartan back ground on my computer srceen . Looks great

[M. A. C. Newsome]

So long as we are talking about traditional tartans (I mean to say, not newly designed ones), then copyright is not normally an issue.

However, even though there would be no copyright for the tartan design itself, there may be a copyright held on a particular image or rendition of the tartan. If I took a photograph of the Clan MacGregor tartan, I would own the copyright on that photograph, and so you should not be using it without my permission, most especially for commercial purposes. Likewise if I made a drawing, or a computer graphic, featuring the tartan.

On the other hand, if you took a photograph of the MacGregor tartan (or made a drawing, etc), then you would own the copyright to that particular representation and you'd be in the clear. :-)

[smcclure]

I appreciate both replies I have received. The images I had used were from The Scottish Register of Tartans <www.tartanregister.gov.uk> and of course did not indicate the photographer of each tartan. I did notice an entry of some tartans being entered before the registry began which would apply to the advice of newer tartans.

But the best solution may be to photograph the tartans I have and maybe purchase and photograph the tartan papers rather than bringing images into Photoshop from the web sites. I just want to be sure I am following ethical standards with this situation.

[smcclure]

I think I found one of the best solutions and one that is fun for me as a designer. There is a website: <www.tartanmaker.com> where I can design a simple tartan. Granted it is not complex like most but for my possible commercial digital scrapbooking needs. I can use the colors I want and not be afraid of copyright infringement on my part. The end result is that most of the background papers are covered with embellishments and images so it is not a matter of trying to have an exact tartan but when I offer a digital kit package it does show the papers individually so then it is my copyright that I have to be concerned with. If someone wants an exact tartan paper they can find it elsewhere. But I later may photograph some tartans for personal use.