DSF

Themugbox, i will tell you how i do this.
If i see design i like and I'm certainly sure this is not my design then I know it would be illegal to reproduce it. Why? coz its not my! And if its not my then is belongs to someone. If i don't know him/her there is no way i can ask for licence/permition.

so in short. If you didn't create it by youself - leave it.

I am sad to say there seems to be an elitist core who clock up the posts by giving less than useful advice and sitting in an ivory tower above us new guys

hmmm.. I can only say that i don't agree with you on this one.

Thanks Galerion, makes it a little clearer. It really is a minefield isn't it.

Paul, I am only saying how it feels for a new member. Us newbies are going to ask ridiculous questions in the minds of the experienced. A civil and polite answer never hurts.

I have had a couple of PMs from other members saying they feel the same. But hey we are grown ups, there are far worse things out there.

in the whole, the majority of responses I have had have been helpful. So thank you.

well. i am here from the beginning of this forum and can recall any situation when newbie or any other person was ridiculed because the question... in worst case you may not get the answer to your question...

Any way... relax, seat back and join the conversation... you will feel better soon

Please patronise me a little more... I never said I felt ill. Maybe proves my point.

Themugbox;97777 wrote:Thanks Galerion, makes it a little clearer. It really is a minefield isn't it.

Your welcome and it is a minefield I think the problem comes from trying to tell what is an idea and what is copyrighted, this leads to the blanket statement which while they are correct they are also not helpful when trying to differentiate the two.

I don't think Paul meant any offense here! This is a public forum, and nobody gets paid to give each other advice, so to that end you will sometimes get light-hearted or witty replies. Like any forum, sometimes you might even get a reply that you don't like, but in all honesty if you don't like an answer, it's probably easier just to nod and smile and ignore!

I've had advice in the past from many members on here, both established and new, and never found any of them patronising.

spongerobinson;97781 wrote:I don't think Paul meant any offense here!

No. I actually tried to be nice lol

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/

Paul;97782 wrote:No. I actually tried to be nice lol

Paul - Super Moderator - Trying (but failing) to be nice since September 2009! :biggrin:

No offence meant Paul, you've been nice to me before!

In the case of a Mrs Brown phone case I could put on a Mrs Brown costume then take a picture of myself or draw a picture of Brendan O'Carroll in costume and I could call it Mrs Brown phone case, Mrs brown can be used being as the show is Mrs brown's boys. The idea itself isn't copyrightable and when people ask about copyright it can be because they want help trying to discern what is the idea and what is copyright, sometimes this is easy and sometimes it isn't.