Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois

Are you serious? You don't tell us the company, you don't tell us the picture, you don't tell us the magazine. And, then you ask us if it is copyrighted? Get real and go see a copyright lawyer if you want to know, so you can review the specifics.

In general, prior to the current (1978) law, copyrights were valid for 28 years from registration, with a renewal possible for 28 more years. The 1978 Act increased the renewal term to 47 years, for a possible term of 75 years. Under the current law a copyright lasts for companies for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is earlier. A 1960's ad probably falls under the old copyright law depending on certain facts and is probably not renewed. However, that is just a guess and the actual facts might show it renewed and still valid for years more. That is why I said get real and see a copyright lawyer.

The vintage ads website (again which you did not specify)can probably tell you whether this is still subject to a valid copyright registration. It would be surprising if the website was so stupid as to be publishing copyrighted ads without checking copyright status and getting any needed permission.

One simple solution for you is to determine if the vintage ad website is claiming any rights to the ad, as they are probably the only one left to assert a claim if the original company no longer exists. If they are not, then the ad is almost certainly public domain. In that case, you might just use the ad and attribute it to the vintage ad website so that anyone claiming a copyright would presumably go after the vintage ad website and not bother with you as they are the source. Normally a copyright owner intent on stopping infringement tries to get as close to the source as possible unless the source is known to have a propensity to engage in expensive litigation. If you receive a complaint about your use, just offer to delete the ad right away.