ChiloquinRuss posted:Friendly reminder folks, what's on the individual sign images is not copyrightable but the layout and production of that display sheet certainly is. If you own the sheet you might be able to make a copy for YOURSELF, but you cannot make copies to distribute elsewhere either for free or pay. Russ
Actually, it is the other way around:
Individual sign images certainly COULD be copyrighted, unless they are just trivial text (although, in practice most or all of these are probably in the public domain). OTOH, a simple collection such as this is unlikely to meet the requirement as a "creative work", and so is likely not eligible for copyright. As an analogy, the courts have ruled that a phone book is not sufficiently "creative" to be copyrightable, even though a lot of work is involved in creating it. The line is fuzzy, but a simple sheet of images probably doesn't cross it. A counterargument might involve the fact that their logo is stylized in the background, which could push it over the line. The only way to find out for sure is to litigate.
Also, if we want to get technical, there is no exception in the copyright law for "personal use".
