TL;DR — The commercial-display use of an archival coffee print covers printing the file and showing the framed result in a business you operate — a café, roastery, restaurant, or hotel. It does not grant resale of the file, redistribution, or use of the image in goods you sell or in your own branding. If it hangs on your wall, you’re fine; if it goes on your packaging, ask first.
By Coffee Posters · Published August 2026
What “commercial display” actually means
There are two separate things at play in any archival print: the underlying artwork and the file you license. The historic coffee artworks are in the public domain — out of copyright, free for anyone to reproduce. What you license from us is the restored, print-ready file plus the right to print and display it. Commercial display means exactly that: you may print the file and hang the framed result in a business you operate.
So a café, roastery, restaurant, hotel lobby, or office may print and display these pieces on their walls without any further permission. That is a normal commercial display use and it is covered.
What it does not cover
Display is not the same as product or brand use. The commercial-display right does not let you resell or redistribute the digital file, use the image on goods you sell (coffee bags, mugs, T-shirts, packaging), incorporate it into your logo or brand identity, or license it onward to a third party. Those are separate uses with separate considerations, because they turn the image into a product rather than décor.
The simple test
Ask one question: is the image staying on the wall, or is it going onto something you sell? A framed print in your café is display — covered. The same image printed on your retail coffee bags is product use — not covered by the display right, and something to clear first. When in doubt, that single distinction resolves most cases.
Why the line exists
The public-domain status frees the historic art, but our work — sourcing, restoration, file preparation, and the metadata around each piece — is what we license, and the display right is scoped to protect that while letting businesses use the prints as intended: as archival-quality décor. If your plan is genuinely a framed print on a wall, the licence is designed to say yes.
In the archive: view the featured piece.
Frequently asked questions
Can I hang these prints in my café?
Yes. Printing the file and displaying the framed result in a business you operate is a standard commercial-display use and is covered.
Can I put the image on my coffee bags?
That is product/branding use, not display, and it is not covered by the display right. Clear it first.
Do I owe anything for the original artwork?
No — the historic artworks are public domain. What you license is our restored, print-ready file and the right to print and display it.
Further reading
- What public domain means for coffee art
- Where these images come from
- Why we restore but don’t reinvent
Coffee Posters curates, restores, and reformats public-domain coffee visuals for archival-quality printing. Browse the archive · About.