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An artist, a ladybird and a dung beetle

October 2, 2014 10:38
Miriam Elia: change of names and logo enabled her to publish parody

By

Rosa Doherty,

Rosa Doherty

1 min read

An artist who was asked by a publisher to stop selling her satirical book because of a copyright row has found a way round the problem without breaching the rules.

Miriam Elia was asked by Penguin publishers to destroy her self-published book We Go to the Gallery because they said it represented an infringement of their Ladybird brand.

They sent Ms Elia a "cease and desist" letter in February but, thanks to a copyright exemption for parody that came into force on October 1, her book is now safe.

Ms Elia's book was a satirical take on the Peter and Jane Ladybird books from the 1960s.