Themugbox;97759 wrote:Hi there, another new guy question incoming.... I am slightly confused and this seems a perfect time to ask. The whole copyright thing seems a minefield to me. It is clear that producing something with a registered trademark would be a breech of copyright. (example : a Mrs Brown's Boy phone cover). However where do we stand in using designs which are dotted around the internet in different forms (a good example would be the bacon and egg mugs mentioned earlier). Who actually owns the copyright for these things?
I sell predominately bespoke military designs to the military however we are in the process of launching a website and would like to bolster our range with a few novelty mugs. Now the last thing I want to do is steal any ones ideas but there are so many similar designs out there that I worry it is a minefield and there are a lot of copyright nazis out there (rightly so in most instances but occasionally a little over zealous in their reactions).
As always advice and help much appreciated.
Dave
Copyright isn't a minefield, you design something original, save the file and sell the product. The idea then became a physical form and copyright was established the moment the file was saved. The designer sells his product and feeds his family. Competitor sees the design, thinks that he too can sell it and earn some money for himself because it obviously sells. Copyright owner is angry because someone has stolen his product. Competitor thinks it's fair game and just business. However the law is there to protect the creativity, innovation and the investment the original designer put into the product.
If an infringing design is substantially similar to the original, then the original designer can have those infringements removed from the market, destroyed and he can collect any lost profit. Get some solicitors involved and the infringer is facing a bill of tens of thousands.
Manufacturing a Mrs Brown phone case is not only copyright infringement, but will probably be a trademark infringement. If the BBC or whoever decided to take action, you would be bankrupted by the time those solicitors dragged you through court. Your premises could be raided by the police or Trading Standards for selling counterfeit goods. Would you set up a market stall doing this in full view of the public? There is no difference between the photographer who took the Mrs Brown publicity shot and the DSF forum mug designer selling online.
But so what? Bloody copyright nazis sticking their nose in. Everybody is doing it on ebay....
http://metro.co.uk/2015/02/10/couple-ma ... e-5056718/
