Within my design studio, the term ‘copyright’ often pops up during projects. I’ve found that many clients unknowingly infringe other people’s copyrights, while some want to know more about how to protect their own. Overall, there’s a lack of understanding of what a copyright is and what you can and can’t do with it. So, let me break it down and explain what copyright law is and how it applies to anything such as trademarks, product design or patents.
Intellectual Property (aka IP)
Intellectual property encompasses a wide range of creations originating from human creativity and intellect, including literary and artistic works, inventions, designs, symbols, names and more.
Definitions:
Intellectual = From the mind
Property = Ownership, the thing owned
To simplify, any original idea conceived from your thought process is classed as intellectual property.
But here’s where it gets a little trickier.
Copyright
Copyright is an odd law because there’s no official way of registering it. Instead, it operates like a natural law, magically coming into effect when you produce an original idea.
E.g. I draw a picture of a lawnmower.
The moment my pen hits the paper to draw the lawnmower, I automatically own the copyright as the author of the drawing.
There may be 10s, 100s or 1000s of people designing lawnmowers but copyright provides me with some basic initial protection that allows me to say I drew this particular picture of a lawnmower. Any evidence such as rough workings, sketches or research that helped me draw the lawnmower would also help me verify the drawing belongs to me as it proves my thought and working process to create that design.
This process can be applied to almost anything from photography and literature to coding and concepts, and its purpose is to define who authored any given asset and who has the right to make reproductions of that asset.
Understanding Copyright and Its Symbol
Copyright is again quite straightforward in definition: “the right to copy work”. Naturally, you have no right to copy someone else’s work without consent.
While the copyright symbol itself acts as a deterrent to warn off possible thieves, it’s not mandatory. Regardless of whether the symbol is present or not, you’re still prohibited from reproducing any work without permission.
* It’s important to keep in mind that mere public accessibility of the work doesn’t grant you the right to appropriate it.
How Can You Use Someone Else’s Work?
Copyright establishes the author or owner of any work and its terms of usage. Consent may be given through a number of means, such as free-use agreements, licensing or other methods. The specific terms may vary, but it’s crucial to obtain permission in all cases.
A Registered Design
Imagine creating something that looks truly unique, and perhaps it’s the visual dynamics of something specific that you want to protect within a design.
E.g. I designed and drew a lawn mower shaped like a flying saucer for the purpose of style.
It’s not a trademark or patent, but it can be a registered design to make sure that no one else’s lawnmower looks the same.
Patents
A patent is a stronger and more detailed form of protection but one that is much more technical, as it protects the process of a design or the way a design is built via its components. Often used by inventors, patents can establish the ownership and authorship of an original idea, granting the copyrights in regard to who can reproduce or sell it.
E.g. The flying lawnmower doesn’t run on traditional power sources like petrol, electricity or solar power, but the actual grass it cuts.
The lawnmower’s visual appearance can be a registered design, but more importantly, it’s the internal mechanism that should be patented. What’s more, there may be smaller mechanisms within that mechanism that hold another patent.
* It can get tricky but the easiest way to think of it is – protecting a technical idea or process.
Trademark
A trademark is what most people think of as copyright.
Trade: Commerce
Mark: A distinguished sign
A trademark is an individual mark of ownership to distinguish itself from other companies and products. It’s a stronger and registered form of copyright which applies to logos and branding. Registering a trademark is a vital step in protecting your company’s identity.
E.g. Grassergy Lawnmower TM
INFRINGEMENT
Disputes can create a twinned and tangled web of scenarios. Depending on the individual case or industry it’s related to, other forms of protection may be brought in, such as publishing, licensing and usage. However, the best way to distinguish that an idea is yours is to keep evidence.
Every good idea, whether it’s a brainwave or not, has to be researched and developed. These stages are imperative to show how you created and finalised an idea – it’s the stepping stones of your work and could be worth more than the final idea itself.
! Always keep all research and rough workings to show how you came up with and finalised an idea.
An interesting and mind-boggling copyright scenario
Who owns a photo: The photographer, The model or The company?
Typically……
Models are paid for their services and a release form is signed to signify that the model gave their permission to be photographed and releases their rights to the photograph (being the subject of the photograph). The release may also stipulate fees or conditions as to how the photos can be used.
The photographer owns the photo as the author.
The company hiring the photographer will have T’s & C’s to decide who actually owns the photos or what licence/permissions are allowed with the use of the photos. The company may have paid to hire the photographer to take photos but did they pay for the rights to own the photos themselves?
Key Takeaways
- Keep all research and rough workings to show how the idea was created and finalised.
- Never forget that just because a piece of work is publicly viewable, it doesn’t mean you can take it without permission.
- Copyright laws are in place to ensure that the original author receives credit and benefits from their creations. So, always remember – if it’s not yours, don’t use it without consent.
