Copyrighted?

[danthedesignman 0]

I am not sure if this is the right spot.

I have read posts where people warn against cutting copyrighted material.

My question is how do you know? I am finding myself cutting things for automotive people... and am given almost "car club" type of things to work on. When they are given me art how do I know it is okay to cut it? These things are not brand names but more like a website name or something like that...

Is there some sort of electronic contract that I should be having people sign? I do most my work over the internet.

[kimmy 0]

help, good question.

[lwsimon 1]

From a purely practical standpoint, if the company is small enough that you don't recognize the trademark, they likely don't have the legal resources to come after you.

[danthedesignman 0]

@lwsimon :: this is what I have been thinking also.

Now would there be some sort of contract where I could put legal responsibilities on the client if they did want to cut larger company labels?

[danthedesignman 0]

i am reading through the 14 page WARNING TO EVERYONE POST... which might have answers to what I am looking for.

[tinaski 11]

did you design it - no

then it is copyrighted - under law if you make a design it doesnt have to be registered to be protected -

i.e. if i take a design from here that is someones own design and reproduce it and sell it or give it away - the i am guilty of copyright laws

.

a few things to add - if its not registered they have to prove it was already made before i made it

giving it away doesnt work either because if you do that and its not representing there company they way they want to be represented then again your guilty -

i have done a lot of resource on it if you would like i can see if i still have any of it and i can post it here 

[danthedesignman 0]

Thank you for the advice! I took a college class on copyright/trademark laws and ethics. However at the time I didn't need the information and retained very little!

Anything to further my knowledge would be greatly appreciated!

[wnt4it 0]

Question,,,, what if you alter a design .... then would it still fall under copyright infringement ...  OR if a piece is so messy, with missing lines etc, that you have to revamp the image to create an image.

I guess the list could go on for ever.

[Booper 2]

I do alot of stuff for car clubs as well and generally speaking automakers will allow enthusiast clubs to use their logos so long as you dont alter it in any way, and are doing it not for profit. In other words your just selling it to members of the club and not flogging them at swap meets or flea markets etc.

FORD seems to be very protective of their logos so I steer clear of anything that involves their stuff but Ive gotten written permission from Dodge before, Honda even sent me .ai files of their stuff when I asked to use it for a Honda enthusiast club.

[MZ SKEETER 4,709]

Question,,,, what if you alter a design .... then would it still fall under copyright infringement ...  OR if a piece is so messy, with missing lines etc, that you have to revamp the image to create an image.

I guess the list could go on for ever.

your answer  from Chryslers web page  VERO on EBAY

The Law

It is illegal for anyone to create goods for sale that bear other

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

Question,,,, what if you alter a design .... then would it still fall under copyright infringement ...  OR if a piece is so messy, with missing lines etc, that you have to revamp the image to create an image.

I guess the list could go on for ever.

;)

your answer  from Chryslers web page  VERO on EBAY

The Law

It is illegal for anyone to create goods for sale that bear other

[lwsimon 1]

Question,,,, what if you alter a design .... then would it still fall under copyright infringement ...  OR if a piece is so messy, with missing lines etc, that you have to revamp the image to create an image.

I guess the list could go on for ever.

That's called creating a derivative work, and it is still infringement.  There are exceptions to this (fair use, such as parody), but generally speaking, don't do it.

[lynnpromotions 0]

copyright and trademark are similar but not the same.

the copyright law lasts longer and is renewable but does expire at some point. trademarks expire if not used. one cannot warehouse trademarks. also, trademarks are used to identify a product and using a trademark to represent an official or otherwise a product from the mark holder is counterfitting which is a crime. however use of a trademark not as a mark to identify origin of a product but as a decoration is a fuzzy area. there are a number of court cases on this and in some cases using a trademark to express ones allegiance to the mark holder or the mark holders product has been deemed acceptable.

so if you want to put your dodge logo on your t shirt may be ok or it may not.