Professional Studies Copyright 12/11/13

Copyright

You cannot own an idea only the expression and documentation. Copyright lasts the designer’s lifetime plus 70 years after they decease. This intellectual property can be bought, sold or licenced Copyright does not protect the ides for work, only the work itself is fixed, e.g. in writing. Copyright is difficult with design, one slight change can change a design significantly causing copyright issues, e.g. ready to wear is copied by many high street stores.

Designer Makers and Designers have different copyright issues:

As a designer maker you retain the copyright and can make multiple products with the same imagery. A designer maker must be aware of bigger companies being influenced by you and using your ideas. You must copyright your own work. You must also make sure you are not influenced to the point where copyright may be infringed by yourself in new designs by becoming inspired by/including others intellectual property in the work produced by yourself.

A designer sells an idea or prototype, the copyright fir these ideas or prototype is usually sold. You sell the idea as a designer! By selling the copyright a designer receives a bigger fee. You cannot use the same motifs on different design/garment shapes even if it is a different colour. But if the first motif was printed and used on different designs but changed considerably this is ok.

Tips to avoid copyright issues:

Don’t use images found on the internet or in other published material as they will sue you for copyright, thus use primary work e.g. go and take your own photographs.

Acid are a company associated with intellectual property, also Dacs. Read up on these for more copyright information.

How to copyright work:

On the reverse of your work/photographs/photocopies mark with a ‘c’ with a circle around it ‘©’, your name and date of creation.

Place images in an envelope, seal them and post them to yourself. Keep the sealed envelope with the date and stamp unbroken. This way you can open the envelope in front of a solicitor if copyright issues emerge.

Keep your blog up-to-date so everyone can see when posts were made with the date and time displayed. Images of work on your blog and can also help copyright

Save folders of digital images with titles, such as Autumn/Winter 2013, and date modified will be proof when the work was completed.

Keep a digital log up-to-date including sizes of material, material used etc.

Print photographs with the date in corner or on the reverse.

For more information see the Design council website which explains copyright clearly (designcouncil.org.uk/resources-and-events/designers/guides/legal-issues/)