Sapiens Masterpieces curates artworks that are, to the best of our knowledge, in the public domain. This determination is informed by metadata and designations from trusted sources such as Wikimedia Commons, which apply widely accepted standards including:
Consistent with the position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation, we affirm that faithful digital reproductions of two-dimensional public domain artworks are themselves in the public domain.
Under current UK law, faithful reproductions of public domain artworks, such as high-quality digital scans or photographs of classic paintings do not usually attract new copyright protection. The UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 protects works that are "original", which the courts have interpreted to mean that a work must involve the author's own intellectual creation [1].
In practice, this means that in order for copyright to apply, there must be genuine creative choice or expression of personality, not just effort or technical skill. The older "skill and labour" or "sweat of the brow" approach, which rewarded diligence alone, no longer applies. Therefore, merely investing time or precision in faithfully reproducing an existing work does not make it original or copyrightable.
In some jurisdictions excluding the United States and United Kingdom, re-use of such faithful reproductions may be restricted. To see a comprehensive list of criteria used in public domain evaluation in a host of other countries, please refer to this Wikimedia resource. Sapiens Masterpices does not offer artworks in certain countries, if there are known restrictions.
While we strive to ensure that all content is used appropriately and in good faith, we encourage users to conduct their own due diligence when reusing any material from this site. This does not constitute legal advice.
Sapiens Masterpieces has relied heavily on the work of Wikimedia Commons to ensure that the artworks we feature are securely within the public domain. The Wikimedia Foundation has done outstanding work in making knowledge about the world freely accessible to everyone. We encourage our audience to support their mission by donating, so that this invaluable resource can remain high-quality, reliable, and freely available to all.
This principle, affirmed in THJ v Sheridan (2023) and rooted in earlier rulings such as Temple Island Collections Ltd v New English Teas Ltd (2012), aligns the UK standard with that set out by the European Court of Justice in Infopaq (2009).
Accordingly, further cases such as Antiquesportfolio.com v Rodney Fitch & Co Ltd (2001) and the influential U.S. decision Bridgeman Art Library v Corel Corp. (1999) make clear that simply digitizing or faithfully photographing an existing two-dimensional work does not generate new copyright.