Feb 13 2009
Tracking Down the Copyright Holder For a Cartoon
Cartoons are popular for a reason. Cartoons make us smile, they can make us think. Cartoons can use satire or humor to make a point. If you draw your own cartoon, then you own the copyright and you can do with it whatever you wish. But all those cartoons you find on the funny pages are copyrighted by someone else. So are political cartoons and cartoons found in magazines.
When you use a cartoon in your work, unless you have asked for and received permission to use the cartoon, you are infringing on someone else’s rights.
How does one go about obtaining permission to use a cartoon? The same way you obtain permission to use a written article. If the cartoon was in the newspaper, you contact the Rights Dept. of the newspaper. If you’ve been following along with my posts, you know that in Asking For Permission: Step 3, “Making the ‘Rights’ Choice,” I showed you, step-by-step, how to find and contact a copyright holder.
Today I’ll give you an example of how to find and contact the copyright holder for a cartoon from The New Yorker.
The first step is to write down the exact volume, issue, and page number of the New Yorker magazine where you found the cartoon. If there is an artist’s name or cartoon title, record this information, too.
Next, do a Google search for “new Yorker” +cartoon +permission. The third item on Google’s list is Contact Us: The New Yorker. Click on this link, then scroll halfway down the page to the section titled Permission For Use. The last paragraph in this section reads, “If you would like to reprint or otherwise use a cartoon from The New Yorker, please contact The Cartoon Bank at 1-800-897-8666 or Visit The Cartoon Bank.
The New Yorker is making it easy! Click on The Cartoon Bank link. Uh-oh. What now?
The Cartoon Bank page has a lot of headers. Which one to choose? On the far right is a button titled “Professional Use.” The small print says this is for Licensing, Corporate Gifts & More. Okay, we want licensing, so click on the button for Professional Use.
Scrolling down this page you will find three names: Tricia Gesner, Merredith Miller, and Leigh Montville. Gesner is identified as the licensing sales associate for Newsletters, Magazines, Websites, Direct Mail, Exhibits, other. Miller is the licensing sales associate for Book Publishing and Education Use. Montville is the associate director for licensing and permissions and handles commissioned art and custom gifts.
If you’re asking permission to use a cartoon on your blog or web site, your contact will be Gesner. (You would contact Miller if you were going to use the cartoon in a book.) Clicking on Gesner’s name brings up her e-mail address. Once you have composed your permissions request you can e-mail your request directly to her. Note: In my upcoming Asking for Permission: Step Four section, I will discuss exactly how to write a permissions request.
Also, there is a link at the bottom of the page titled “Contact Us.” Clicking on this link will give you the mailing address and fax number for Cartoon Bank as well as a way to get help finding a particular cartoon. It would be a good idea to keep a copy of this information, too. (If you’re finding permissions for several items, add this information to your spreadsheet. Don’t know what spreadsheet I’m talking about? Go to Asking for Permissions: Steps One & Two and review the post titled “Step Two: Off to Work We Go.”)
A final word of caution: Expect to pay a fee for use of the New Yorker cartoon.
© 2009 Anne Wallingford. All Rights Reserved.
