You asked your legal, copyright and trademark questions, and Jean has answered! All questions are taken from comments posted on the original ‘Ask Jean’ post. We invite you to ask more questions.

Dear Jean,

This is regarding architect’s sketched design solutions that are produced after a request from a client, but without prior fee or professional appointment agreement.

How can I protect my copyright of the sketch design solutions that I have labored over? Do I simply show and discuss the scheme to the client, but not release or handover copies of the work? Or, do I go about formally copyrighting all sketches legally and get my fee proposal signed before issuing copies? After the agreement is made for my services, presumably the copyright of the work is still retained by me?

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You asked your legal, copyright and trademark questions, and Jean has answered! All questions are taken from comments posted on the original ‘Ask Jean’ post. We invite you to ask more questions.

Dear Jean,

I was asked to make some copies of Grandma’s old picture. It is a probably a 40-year old picture, but it has been copyrighted by a photographer. What is the best way to make copies?

From,
Hiromi

Dear Hiromi,

The best way is to get permission from the photograph copyright owner if you can. It’s also possible that the photograph has entered the public domain. If the photograph was taken in 1967, the copyright term at that time was 28 years. But the copyright law was revised in 1976 and may have affected the copyright term of the photograph so it is difficult to determine its copyright status.

Best,
Jean

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DISCLAIMER:
Ask Jean responses consist of general legal information and do not constitute specific legal advice or create an attorney client privilege. Please consult your own attorney about your specific legal issues.

You asked your legal, copyright and trademark questions, and Jean has answered! All questions are taken from comments posted on the original ‘Ask Jean’ post. We invite you to ask more questions.

Dear Jean,

I draw designs for greeting cards (my own little “company” for family and friends, complete with logo.) After much encouragement, I would like to attempt to have my designs copyrighted so that I can take them around to gift shops and such.

My question is this: do I need to copyright every single design separately (which will break me if I do! I have a lot of designs!) or will a trademarked logo protect them? If I have my logo trademarked, does that protect just the logo or does it protect the designs in anyway? I have seen some cards that have the artist’s name with the copyright symbol, how does that work? I obviously have no clue what to do concerning copyrighting greeting card designs.

(guess that was more than one question!)
Elizabeth

Dear Elizabeth,

The best way to register all the designs together is to put them all together in a catalog and register the entire catalog in one registration on a VA form. If you have them on a Web site you can also register the site contents on one registration.

A trademark will protect only the name and logo, not the designs.

You should put a copyright notice on all your cards © your name (year). As the creator of the cards, you are the copyright owner.

Best,
Jean

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DISCLAIMER:
Ask Jean responses consist of general legal information and do not constitute specific legal advice or create an attorney client privilege. Please consult your own attorney about your specific legal issues.

You asked your legal, copyright and trademark questions, and Jean has answered! All questions are taken from comments posted on the original ‘Ask Jean’ post. We invite you to ask more questions.

Hi Jean!

I run a Creative Services department in a large corporation. I am creating a brochure for a tradeshow. In this brochure is a 30 year timeline showing events in the industry, company milestones and cultural fads. As part of this timeline I wanted to include images of specific products including a Rubick’s Cube, a Viewmaster, Etch-a-sketch and an iPod or iPhone. I have not seen stock photography of these objects. I was going to have a photo shoot so I have original photography we own.

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You asked your legal, copyright and trademark questions, and Jean has answered! All questions are taken from comments posted on the original ‘Ask Jean’ post. We invite you to ask more questions.

Hi Jean,

Great site! If you design a stationary system for a client and take your files to the printer, and the client in turn pays the printer for the work but does not pay your bill (the designer) in full, do you have a right to refuse to let the printer reprint any of the work until you get paid in full?

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You asked your legal, copyright and trademark questions, and Jean has answered! All questions are taken from comments posted on the original ‘Ask Jean’ post. We invite you to ask more questions.

Hi Jean,

As I’m designing corporate training classes I often have topics where it would be instructive to show brief excerpts from movies.

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You asked your legal, copyright and trademark questions, and Jean has answered! All questions are taken from comments posted on the original ‘Ask Jean’ post. We invite you to ask more questions.

Hello Jean,

So nice to hear that you are doing this. I am new to the field and my first question is: On all sites you see the copyright symbol. Who is responsible for obtaining the copyright on a website, and how does one go about getting this done? Also, when I design a label or do artwork for a client, and he/she pays me for the job, who is the rightful owner of the work?

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You asked your legal, copyright and trademark questions, and Jean has answered! All questions are taken from comments posted on the original ‘Ask Jean’ post. We invite you to ask more questions.

Hello Jean,

I have an idea for a “workbook” that people would use in conjunction with a self-help book and movie already in existence. Although this is just an example, it’s as if I wanted to design, write, and sell “Implementing POWERFUL LIVING in Your Own Life,” when “Powerful Living” was written by a different author.

Naturally, I don’t want to contact that author with the idea, because he could implement my idea himself.

Is this possible? Legal? What’s your advice?

Thanks,
Merry

Dear Merry-

You cannot create a workbook based on an existing book and movie without the permission of the copyright owner of the book and movie. What you are creating is a derivative work which you need the permission of the copyright owner to create. My advice is to contact the author with your proposal and ask for a license. - Jean

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DISCLAIMER:
Ask Jean responses consist of general legal information and do not constitute specific legal advice or create an attorney client privilege. Please consult your own attorney about your specific legal issues

Read the next Ask Jean! post

1. “You don’t have to put copyright notices on your work anymore.” This myth arose because of the amendments to the Copyright law after the US became a member of the Berne Convention, the international copyright treaty. In Berne countries, copyright notices are not required. When a country becomes a member of the Berne Convention, it may not require notices as a condition of copyright ownership, and as of 1992, the US does not either. HOWEVER, this does not mean that you should leave copyright notices off your work. (more…)

Legal, copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights confusion? Notes guest author and legal expert Jean S. Perwin is taking questions.

Jean is a Miami-based lawyer specializing in Intellectual Property Law, Entertainment and General Corporate Law for a wide range of clients, including graphic design firms, advertising agencies, visual artists and photographers. Her firm handles copyright and trademark registration, copyright, trademark and patent licensing, entertainment, computer, internet and general business contracts, partnerships, and corporate matters. She is co-author of The Artist’s Friendly Legal Guide, a columnist for HOW magazine, and has a forthcoming featured industry interview on the Notes on Design blog.

If you have questions for Jean, go ahead and post them as comments below. Jean will reply to questions frequently under the “Legal, Copyright & Trademark” Category of Notes on Design.