The Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot Card Copyright FAQ

View high-resolution side-by-side images of selected cards from the first Tarot deck and the US Games deck.

About this FAQ
Introduction
Q. What is the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot Deck?
Q. Who created the RWS Tarot deck?
Q. What is the publication data for the Pictorial Key to the Tarot?
Q. What is the US copyright status of a work published in 1909?
Q. What is the US copyright status of the RWS and the PKT?
Q. What is the EU or UK copyright status of a work published in 1909?
Q. What is the EU or UK copyright status of the RWS and PKT?
Q. Many works are in the public domain in the United States but not in the EU or UK. That hardly seems fair. Aren't there international laws that allow owners of copyrights to enforce their copyright worldwide?
Q. Does GATT apply to the RWS Tarot or the PTK?
Q. How are copyright laws enforced?
Q. What is the basis of US Games' claim of ownership of the RWS rights?
Q. My US Games deck says "Copyright 1971". What does this refer to, if the deck was published in 1909?
Q. US Games claims that they also have a trademark on the RWS Tarot. What is this about?
Q. I've heard that Pamela Coleman Smith wasn't paid for her work, and that invalidates all successive copyright claims.
Q. Can a mechanical reproduction of a public domain artwork be copyrighted?
Q. So, if sacred-texts uses these images, can I use these images at my website?

About this FAQ

This is a set of answers to frequently asked questions about the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck copyrights.

Since I'm not a lawyer, this is presented for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered as offering legal advice. If you want to publish the RWS Tarot cards you should contact a copyright lawyer for legal advice.

I've attempted to present a 'fair and balanced' view of this matter. However, this FAQ doesn't cover the totality of this very complicated case. Nor does it cover any aspects of the history of the RWS Tarot beyond the legal issues. Any opinions (as opposed to matters of fact) in this document will be clearly identified by the phrase 'In my opinion'. I welcome any corrections, suggestions, or anecdotes which might shed more light on this situation.

My principal reference for this has been The Public Domain