That means asking for permission to use images made by someone else in your t-shirt design. If you need a good rule of thumb, always err on the side of caution. Does that mean anything without trademark or copyright symbols is fair game for you to use? Absolutely not! Most things that are trademarked have that symbol. This could be anything from a company name, logo, symbol, or slogan. Put simply, trademarked material is intellectual property that helps distinguish one brand from another. What is a Trademark? We all know the little ™ symbol represents when something is On Brand. – Trademark companies and their logos, names and content. – Celebrities exploited in any way, even if you created original content. – Images found on search engines or any other image that is not listed for commercial use. Wait, what? This one is confusing, so we’ll come back to it later. No embarrassing photo of Spongebob at the Christmas party. – Characters from movies, books, comics and television shows. Sorry, but you can’t use that picture of Barbara Streisand you keep at your bedside. – Pictures or artwork of sports teams, schools and universities, organizations, clubs, movies, books, games and bands. Schools, universities and other organizations, as well! doesn’t matter if it’s from a book, game, or sports team. Guess I’ll have to go with my other idea, “Piggy Williams and The Multi-Level Marketing Scheme.” Assets You Absolutely Cannot Use Without Express Permission If I wanted to use Harry as a character in my book at all, I would need Ms. When we say that something is “copyrighted,” we mean that the creator holds the rights to who can use it, especially in terms of using it for profit.įor example, let’s say I want to write a bestselling children’s book, “Harry Potter Commits Tax Fraud.” I would be in violation of JK Rowling’s copyright and trademark of the Harry Potter character and the brand based around it. Intellectual property, in this case, is literary and artistic works, ranging from books, music, and paintings, to blueprints, software, and databases. The point is copyright is a way to set standards for ownership of what is known as intellectual property. I won’t go into the history of copyright law– feel free to check it out for yourself. Over the centuries, governments have attempted to put laws in place to determine better what ideas belong to whom. Who owns an idea? It’s a tricky question to answer. What is Copyright? What is a Trademark? And Why Does it Matter? Disclaimer - we're not lawyers, so this shouldn't be considered legal advice. You’re going to learn everything you should know about copyright first. Do you really want to get a cease-and-desist letter about your new bestselling tee? You might be thinking, “who cares? Everyone uses copyrighted material all the time.” While you’re not necessarily wrong, that doesn’t mean the law will back you up. But are they legal? The last thing you want to do is send your latest creation off to get printed, only to find out it can’t because you’re using something that’s been copyrighted. I bet you have a ton of great ideas for custom T-shirt designs.
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