Copyright

[annalaura]

Has anyone had any problems before with copyright issues and if so how did they deal with it?


I've read a lot of information from this website (http://www.copyright.org.au/) and they seem to have a lot of great information but nothing about how to deal with a situation other than contact a lawyer.


The website also has free advice for artists which is handy to know.

[thelittleorchard]

I remember in Uni that in a writing class a lecturer mentioned there was a centre for writers that helped them for free to deal with copyright issues etc. I wonder if such a centre exists for artists/designers etc.

[annalaura]

The website I mentioned above gives out free advice, which I think is great to know as often it is hard to deal with.

[karasmith]

Hey guys,

I can answer this as this week at Springboard (http://www.australiandesignunit.com) we had an arts lawyer in who discussed all this stuff at length.

Australian Business Arts Foundation (http://www.abaf.org.au) is a good place to start. They help artists in many ways but are a good place to start with FREE information. You can even get help with business plans, website ideas, etc. I am yet to work out how I am going to approach to find out help for my business but they came to Springboard this week talking about what they do.

Copyright is tricky... applies to published work UNTIL you publish/create more than 50 items of the same design. Then you are no longer covered. So then you have design registration to consider and also Trademarking your logo, name, and tags you use, etc...

K

[annalaura]

When I first read what you wrote Kara it worried me a lot as I thought items I have made wouldn't be covered because I've made more than 50 and they are the same design. However they are still covered by copyright as they are artistic designs.

I spoke to my sister who explained the copyright and design registration process to me (from her uni notes as well as some websites) and I think I've got a bettle grasp of it.

This article http://www.copyright.org.au/pdf/acc/articles_pdf/A97n13.pdf

explains it a little better as I don't even want to try because it would probably be wrong.

However from what I understand, when you register a design it is so you can mass produce the item and be protected. However the item must specific because if it is broad design then it stops other people from registering a design they might have.

I think the bags that you make Kara would be protected by copyright because they are all unique and works of craftmanship. Even though you might have made more than 50 designs that are from the same pattern, they are not all identical and you would have used different fabrics.

Someone once asked if it would be worth getting a patent on their work, but that is more for inventions and is quite expensive and takes a long time to go through the process. You also have to make every detail on how it is made available for anyone to read. It covers you for 20 years so in that time nobody else can do what you do, but after 20 years they can, and they know how to make it because the information is available. An example Coke does not have a patent because the recipe is a secret and they want it to remain that way.


Another thing, a flickr and a blog is an important thing to keep because it is a history of your design process. If you did end up having to prove a design is yours and you have been making it before someone else who might be copying you, if you have documented your progress online with images of designs and sketches then it is proof of when you made it with the dates. And here we all were thinking it was all about the ego!

[karasmith]

Im not sure as my bags use a pattern - therefore making 50 of each item is not unreasonable... your badges are all slightly different in their shapes and patterns. It doesn't matter about the fabric/finish but the patterns and shapes that need to be registered.

[annalaura]

If you were getting someone to manufacture identical bags and a lot of them (some fabrics, buttons - everything identical) I think that is when you would need to think about design registration. When you are creating them individually with different fabrics they are still covered by copyright because they are works of artists craftmenship. I think that is how it works, although if you wanted to register the pattern you could I think. That is when I get a little confused, but you should be covered by copyright even though you might have made more than 50 from the same pattern.