Design-related legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? NoD guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions. If you have questions for Jean, email them to us using editor (at) notesondesign.net. Jean will reply to questions frequently here under the “Intellectual Property” category of NoD.

NoD reader Shannon says:

I have a friend that was contacted by another party who has trademarked the same production company name my friend uses. Unfortunately, my friend never trademarked the name but does hold the longer dba (since 2001; opposing party since 2006). The email indicated that my friend may have to discontinue using the name. My friend’s company is for Graphic Design; the other company has a trademark for video and film production only.
My questions are as follows: Read the rest of this entry »

Design-related legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? NoD guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions. If you have questions for Jean, email them to us using editor (at) notesondesign.net. Jean will reply to questions frequently here under the “Intellectual Property” category of NoD.

NoD reader Rochelle says:

Hi Jean,

I’ve been asked to write for a character in a series of comic books. Should the publisher and I do a licensing agreement or writer-for-hire? When I decide to spin-off from that character to the character of my own creation what type of agreement should I obtain under those conditions?
-Rochelle

Hi Rochelle:

I would be very surprised if the Publisher did not give you a work for hire agreement to sign. If you are considering spin offs they have to be specifically exempted from your work for hire agreement otherwise you will not have the rights to do anything related to the original character. All rights will belong to the Publisher. Do not sign anything until you have an attorney review it for you.

- Jean

Design-related legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? NoD guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions. If you have questions for Jean, email them to us using editor (at) notesondesign.net. Jean will reply to questions frequently here under the “Intellectual Property” category of NoD.

NoD reader Stephen says:

Hi Jean -
Thanks for keeping up to date such a great resource.

My question relates to work I did for a client in late ‘05-’07. During this time I performed a number of strategic and creative (i.e. product naming and initial logo mocks which were communicated to client via email). Since, the relationship has gone sour.

The former client filed federal trademark registration a week after our name suggestion and it is currently published for opposition for the past year (another brand is opposing). The product has just launched.

My question is, Read the rest of this entry »

Design-related legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? NoD guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions. If you have questions for Jean, email them to us using editor (at) notesondesign.net. Jean will reply to questions frequently here under the “Intellectual Property” category of NoD.

NoD reader Cath asked:

We purchased an original piece of art from our neighbor. Last Sunday she asked to borrow it back to make prints. My spouse and I orally said ok, and the neighbor took the piece from our home. Due to other issues with this neighbor my spouse and I have decided against letting this neighbor use our piece of art. I have called her home and her cell and informed her that we have revoked our permission, and request immediate return of our art. I understand she owns the copyright to this piece, I do not have intent to copy or redistribute it. Do I have to let her copy it for prints after we have purchased it from her? Thank you in advance for your response.
Be well. Cath

Hello Cath:

As you pointed out, even though you own the artwork itself, your neighbor owns the copyright to the work and has the right to make prints from it. You can’t revoke permission that you do not have the right to give. Your mistake was relinquishing possession. (It is 9/10th of the law, after all.) My advice would be to give her a deadline after which she has to return the painting or the money that you paid for it.

- Jean

Design-related legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? NoD guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions. If you have questions for Jean, email them to us using editor (at) notesondesign.net. Jean will reply to questions frequently here under the “Intellectual Property” category of NoD.

NoD reader Michel asked:

I want to sell photographs that I have taken of action figures (toys) that I took and own. However, these action figures are of course representations of copyrighted characters such as popular heroes like superman, or from movies such as the matrix. Is this infringing on the rights of the toy manufacturer to sell images of their products? Does it make a difference if I don’t use written or spoken word that references their product, just the image?

Hello Michel:

This is a trickier legal issue than it looks like and one, which I don’t think, has been tested yet. As the creator of the photograph, you have the right to sell the picture. The problem is that you are also using the copyrights and trademarks of others to sell the work and that’s potentially infringing. It does not make a difference whether you use nothing but the image. I would argue that you do have the right to sell your own photographs. But, if I were representing the copyright and trademark owners, I could also make a pretty good case that you don’t. You just have to decide if it’s worth the risk. There’s no question that it is a risk.

- Jean

Design-related legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? NoD guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions. If you have questions for Jean, email them to us using editor (at) notesondesign.net. Jean will reply to questions frequently here under the “Intellectual Property” category of NoD.

Thomas says:

I am a freelance graphic designer. Over the course of 5 years, I conceptualized and designed all the branding, corporate identity, website design and illustration work for COMPANY A – at a reduced hourly rate. It was a small startup company with a website product, and I had a somewhat personal relationship with the owner.

Now, there was money exchanged for design services, with this set hourly rate paid for the work. There was also – however – a COMPANY A promise of a lot of future work once the COMPANY A product was sold.

No agreement was ever signed, and ownership of the copyright was never discussed. There was an inherent promise to compensate us once the product was acquired, but that has not materialized.
COMPANY A was recently acquired by a major Magazine, which will bundle the COMPANY A product into their features on their website.

So basically the product was sold, but i’ve been cut out of any profit or promise of continuing work. The Magazine’s creative director is now requesting original art files from us as well, so they can take over the maintenance and further marketing of the product.

My questions are as follows: Read the rest of this entry »

Design-related legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? NoD guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions. If you have questions for Jean, email them to us using editor (at) notesondesign.net. Jean will reply to questions frequently here under the “Intellectual Property” category of NoD.

Hi Jean,

For the past six years I’ve developed the print design department of a small company. There was just me and the computer doing the creative and production work, and the boss facilitating with infrastructure and a wage. I got tired of the office politics, left that company and started my own. Many customers have come with me. My question is, who owns the customer files? If the old company wants to sell them, is that legal, and what are they worth? This is a small community and a lot of goodwill is at stake here. But I don’t want to sacrifice more than I have to.
Thanks for any help you can provide!
Sue

Read the rest of this entry »

Design-related legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? NoD guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions. If you have questions for Jean, email them to us using editor (at) notesondesign.net. Jean will reply to questions frequently here under the “Intellectual Property” category of NoD.

Hi Jean,

I’m a graphic designer who has recently done some campaign work for a local (county) race. The initials of the client are M.M. and this person desperately wanted to include some M&M candy type reference in the campaign materials. The final design includes a quarter-circle with a slab-serif lowercase m (not the actual M&M typeface, but similar), stuck up in the corner. It’s not the main image, but it is there. Is this ok under trademark law? I *think* so since it’s not really a commercial use, but can’t find a definitive answer anywhere. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jean Perwin

Design-related legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? NoD guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions. If you have questions for Jean, email them to us using editor (at) notesondesign.net. Jean will reply to questions frequently here under the “Intellectual Property” category of NoD.

Hi Jean,
I recently sold a package of CPA review materials to a private party. The package was from the year 2005 and I sold it for $500. It has been two weeks since the sale and now the private party is asking to return the package and that I refund his $500. He is threatening to take me to small claims court and file an ‘injunction’ if I do not refund the money. He is claiming that the package is “not what he was looking for”. Personally, I believe he may have just read/copied the pages that he needed, and now he wants his money back to get out of the deal. What recourse do I have if he files in small claims court?
Thank you!
Katie

Read the rest of this entry »

By Jean Perwin

Design-related legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? NoD guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions. If you have questions for Jean, email them to us using editor (at) notesondesign.net. Jean will reply to questions frequently here under the “Intellectual Property” category of NoD.

Sherri says:

Hi Jean,

I live in TN and in 2004 created my own freelance graphic design company. I did research on the name that I chose and found nothing similar. This weekend, I started checking around and now found one lady who has named her “craft” company/blog Blue Cricket Designs and another graphic design website. Should I as a sole proprietor invest in the $325 trademark filing fee? Most of my work is located in the state of TN, but it irritates me because of all the work that I put into my name. The irritation was especially apparent when the craft blog lady refused to stop using the name. She creates cards and other things that could become confused with what i do. Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks from a frustrated freelancer!

Sherri G Pugh Read the rest of this entry »