Dear Rich: I have a question. My cousin is working on a little book for high school students planning to go to college. She wants to use the clip art from Microsoft Word. Do you know if there is a copyright problem in doing so? I'm so glad you asked. Unfortunately, there is a problem. According to Microsoft's official permission statement, "You may not use clip art to illustrate the chapters of a book." The Dear Rich staff believes that if your publication is limited to a group of local high school students, there is unlikely to be an issue (unless the students have relatives on the Microsoft legal team). However, if your cousin seeks to sign a publishing deal, there will be an issue when the publisher seeks clearance.
Mar 04, 2009
