Ask the Experts Copyrights Q&A

I buy pendants and antique beads at garage sales, flea markets and other sources. I use these pendants as focal points to build my necklaces around and some of them have a name printed on the back. Do I have a copyright problem or is there some other problem I might have if I want to sell my work?

- Nathalie

If 20% or more of the design is your creation, there should not be an issue. 

For more information on copyrights, please read Without Copyrights Where Would We Be? and To Copyright or Trademark That is the Question. 

For legal advice, please contact an attorney.

- Michelle Wood, Jewelry-Making Expert