Can I Change the Illustrations in a Book Translation I Am Publishing?

Full question:

Question 1: If one gets permission from the copyright owner of a book to republish that book in another language, and faces the challenge of not being able to secure affordable rights to publish the pictures/illustrations found in the book from the same sources as indicated in the original book, can that person use similar pictures from the public domain or other sources that indicate their material can be used without restriction (e.g. it is from a government source, like the National Archives)Question 2: There are many books that are in the public domain. Can one use pictures from such books to include in another book which will be sold for a profit? For example, as in Question 1, in the possession of the necessary license permisson an English title will be translated into Polish and published in Poland. Can the publisher of the Polish version scan pictures from some old books now in the public domain to be included in the new translated version, assuming there is also no royalty on those pictures as those book are in the PD? (Even though some of those pictures and paintings dont seem to be available for free from other sources today)

• Category: Intellectual Property
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: New Jersey

Answer:

The answer will depend on the rights granted to you in the licensing/publishing agreement. We suggest you read the terms on the contract carefully to determine your rights to change the illustrations, or add a clause specifically addressing the matter if it isn't addressed. Under most U.S. book publishing agreements, the publisher acquires not only the English language book publication rights, but also acquires certain so-called subsidiary rights. Subsidiary rights typically include the right to publish foreign language editions of the book, the right to reprint portions of the book in magazines, anthologies, textbooks and other publications, the right to package and sell the book in the form of an audiobook or book on tape, the right to produce plays, motion pictures and television shows based on the book, and the right to use the book and themes, illustrations or characters from the book for various types of merchandise.

For further discussion, please see:

http://tlc.usm.maine.edu/cli_admin/journal_pdf/vol_000_issue_000_article_006.pdf