Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York

Re: public domain

Depending on the source of the image, its nature and its date of creation, you can usually make a guess as to whether it is protected or not. The normal presumption is that all works are protected by copyright whether or not they display a copyright notice. There are some exception for older works that might have moved into the public domain by virtue of being published without a notice or for which the copyright term expired but you would want to verify that before using them in any way that would constitute copyright infringement.

If you know the author or the work title, you might want to do a quick search on the U.S. Copyright Office's website -- www.copyright.gov. There are also firms that do copyright searches and clearances and obtain licenses for a fee. IP lawyers provide similar services. If in doubt, contact a professional. Good luck.