(Extraction from the Copyright Office, Cartoons & Comic Strips)

Circular 44

IN GENERAL

The copyright law of the United States (title 17 of the United States Code) provides for copyright protection of literary and artistic works. Copyright protection begins automatically when a work is first created in a fixed form.

Cartoons and comic strips are among the types of works of authorship protected by copyright.

This protection extends to any copyrightable pictorial or written expression contained in the work.This protection does not extend to the title or general theme for a cartoon or comic strip or to the general idea or name for the characters depicted. Intangible attributes of characters are not copyrightable, but a drawing, picture, or depiction or a written description of a character may be registered for copyright. However, copyright does not extend to the character itself. A character may be protected under aspects of other state, common, or trademark laws. Likewise, titles and names may sometimes be protected under state law doctrines or trademark laws, but such protection is not provided for in the copyright statute. Consult an attorney for details.

What is commonly thought ...

MYTH: If particular cartoons are seen and offered as clipart all over the Internet, then an embroiderer should be able to use any character they find on web pages for their embroidery designs. 

There are signs to look for when obtaining art from the Internet. Never borrow any image that you don't absolutely know you have a right to take, especially if it is for a profitable purpose.  A FAQ or other link announcing copyright information should ALWAYS be searched before using image files.

For example one clip art site's FAQ page states the following:

"What are the copyright restrictions on these images? Can I use them on my site? - Many people are worried that if they have these images on thier site that Disney will shut them down. To the best of my knowledge this is false. The only restriction that there is, is that you can make NO MONEY off of a site using these Disney images. Again this is to the best of MY knowledge and all I do is provide the images, what you do with them is your business and this site or it's maintainers will not be held accountable.

Can I use these images for brochures, classes, overheads, etc? - These items are pretty much the same as the above dealing with copyright. You can make NO MONEY off of anything that you use these images for."

This disclaimer above represents the type of things you MUST look for! He firmly states it's "to the best of my knowledge" meaning that if you do get in trouble, don't blame him and he also makes it extremely clear that "you can make NO MONEY" using the images for ANYTHING.  Stay safe, don't assume!  Take the time to read and understand the FAQs.  And when you're seeking the actual truth, simply ask the actual copyright owner.