Greeting Cards

[Claim to Frame]

Apologise of this has been discussed before, but where do you stand legally if you area mounting up/framing greeting cards for resale?

Found a lovely set recently, an was looking to mount them up for people as a little decorative piece.

Is there any copyright issues if I'm not claiming them as my own? Just re-purposing (if that's a word!) them?

[prospero]

Is there a legal bit printed on the card? Did you buy them direct from a wholesaler and if so is there any blurb in their t's and c's?

It's a tricky area. Even if you were supplied on the condition that you only sell the cards as cards, what's to stop a customer buying one from you and turning round and asking you to frame it?

[Claim to Frame]

Nope, didn't buy from wholesale. Found this little card shop tucked away in a village an purchased a few.

Will check the backs of the cards though an see of it says anything.

[StevenG]

We sell a few cards - we did ask at the time of purchase if framing them would be an issue and we were assured that it'd be no problem. However, all the designs/artwork on the cards were done but the 'card maker' so maybe that's a different story.

[CanvasChris]

Saw these a couple of years ago at Spring Fair... http://www.ig-team.de

they do loads of post cards etc.. and asked them if I could buy the cards and resell them framed ... they said yeah, no problem. I didn't get round to it though as busy elsewhere.

[Kwik Picture Framing]

Yes your only framing these cards not reprinting and framing. So no Issue there.

[Framerpicture]

That's not strictly true Kwik, I'm sure no publisher is going to object to the odd card being framed for a customer despite it breaking the laws of copyright (not used for the purpose for which it was intended).
But if you frame these cards and wholesale/retail them without permission there are certain publishers who would come down on you like a ton of bricks! Potentially they could sue you for any profit you had made, and you would have to pay their costs as well.

[Roboframer]

But would they - and would they win - ever heard of anyone being sued!

Thing is anyone can say anything they like about what can and cannot be done with their products, but that doesn't make it the law. If you frame a greetings card, describe it as a framed greetings card and only add the RRP to the cost of the frame - what have you done wrong?

In the eyes of the majority of card publishers absolutely nothing - they couldn't care less, they've sold the card, do what you want with it .... even charge what you want. The ONLY publishers that stipulate on the back of their cards that they must not be framed are the likes of Washington Green who reproduce their limited editions in other formats including greetings cards.

[Framerpicture]

Think that's the truth of it Robbo, however before anyone embarks on this I think they should know that, in theory, you are breaking copyright
I seem to recall Sally Mitchell may have pursued commercial framers on this matter previously.

[Kwik Picture Framing]

The customers only going to get it framed, then hang it in their house, What's wrong with that?

[Roboframer]

If a customer brings in a card to frame that's no problem at all - or rather not your problem. The 'problem' is framers etc framing cards up to sell.

[IFGL]

Actually so long as they put it in writing on the back of the card or on a sales order or invoice, it becomes terms and conditions of sale and does become law.
In the same way food companies put on multi pack items, not for resale, this is a term and condition of sale and is enforceable by law.

Get permission, this is often as simple as a quick email, most companies are happy you want to sell their stuff, we did this recently asking to use another companies logo on one of our pictures, they were more than happy for the publicity.

The law almost always goes in favour of the copyright holder.

[Roboframer]

We sell greetings cards, bigtime, and buy a lot of stuff from one company that is like the TK Max of the greetings cards market, big name stuff for really (really) silly prices for a minimum spend.

Sometimes there will be stuff included from these publishers that have reproduced their limited editions as greetings cards (and x stitch kits, calendars, mugs and heaven knows what else). So, in those cases (assuming they have an issue with framing them for re-sale), seeing as I did not deal direct with them and do not have any invoice from them or account with them or their catalogue etc etc, where they state and/or I agree with a signature, to their T&Cs - do I, buying with the intent of framing for re-sale, have any obligation to read their spiel on the back of the cards before I cut them off and toss them in the bin?

I think it would be a very difficult legal case but my advice anyway would be, read what it says on the back of the card, if it says you can't frame it for re-sale, don't! (Just make a load of very nice ready-mades that just happen to fit and put them next to them - LOL) But the vast majority of greetings cards won't have that condition on the back, just the ones from publishers where 68/195 on an overpriced limited edition really should read more like 68/199995

[Roboframer]

do I, if buying with the intent of framing for re-sale

I missed the 'if' out first time, I don't buy cards with the intent of framing them for re-sale, what's the point with the average cost of a card being a couple of quid!