reading -- but it's my understanding that Copyright law only
covers the publication, itself, and not the contents of that
publication.
Now there you would be quite WRONG, sorry. A fair amount of your
other understandings are in error also. I encourage everyone (again)
to read my entire www.idearights.com web site (even though it is not
geared toward jewelers or strictly copyright) and to thoroughly read
and understand the full Copyright law (available at www.copyright.gov). Every jeweler should be fully aware of all the
details of the Copyright law that are specific to jewelers. I’m not
an attorney but, folks, this law stuff is not something to be guessed
at or “hoped to be to your advantage,” it is very detailed but it is
also very explicit on a lot of points that people posting here
apparently only guess at without having actually read it.
Example: you DON’T “receive copyright from the gov.,” you either
inherently already have it or the government has already granted it
to you (which you believe depends on your philosophy of “government,”
the end result is the same), at least at the time your “work” is in
“fixed form”. What you do with the government is merely register your
CLAIM to copyright rights which then gives you some more rights
including access to the Federal (in the US and probably similarly in
many other countries) courts. Your CLAIM to copyright rights is
pretty much always accepted at face value by the Copyright Office
when you file your registration (as long as what you are claiming
copyright rights to falls within what the Copyright Office sees as a
proper type of expression for copyright registration) but it can
still be later rejected by the courts in the event of a dispute.
I would think that copyrights are the same or similar from writing
to music, and in music, the song is actually copyrighted from the
time its written, but its very difficult to prove in court unless
its received copyright from the gov.
I was in class last week and my instructor mentioned that artists
will detail out their new design and then seal it up and mail it to
themselves. It apparently holds up in court.
I realize that I'm going to upset a lot of people with
An honest attempt at shedding light on a problem should never upset
people. I’m small potatoes so far (emphasis on the so far part), but
I do get emotional about this topic. I was thinking on it yesterday
and, from what I have heard people say, I became under the impression
that artists will
Come up with something awesome and new
Take their awesome design to market
Sometime down the line write about their awesome design and find
that many unimaginative people out there copy it.
Debut their very next awesome design and go back to step 2 This is
not to say that I think all the copying out there is acceptable, it’s
not. However, if and when I debut something awesome I’m thinking I
can do it again. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I am cut from the
same cloth as Monet, but isn’t it part of the whole exciting process
of creating? If I come up with one thing and I do it for the rest of
my life and never move on…yuck. I think the best part may be
trying to stay ahead of the copying curve. Outsmart them. Don’t
publish directions for your designs until you’re ready to show what’s
behind curtain number 2. Besides, you will always be the first and
they will always be the second stringers.
The craftsman expressed amazement that this was not the purpose of
the book. The author roared, "did you not see the copyright
notice?" The craftsman was totally confused,...
which should serve as a reminder to all - craftspersons, wanabees,
lurkers, every interested party, ESPECIALLY INSTRUCTORS - it is
absolutely necessary that the laws of the trade be taught and learned
at the time their interest first arises. unless the instructor is
personally teaching his or her project in class it isn’t to be
copied.
before finding ganoksin.com i surfed around a little in the
obviously named sites and found some weird “facts” circulating theRe:
“i heard that i could copy it if i gave the designer credit”; “i was
told that if i didn’t sell it i could copy it”; “i found out that if
i pay the designer the cost of my materials i could copy it”; “i
learned that if i sold it for the same amount of my materials it was
all right to copy it” and some of the rest were really stupidly
ignorant. when i quoted the copyright law as published by
CraftsReport (and i also posted on orchid) i received threatening
emails banning my emails from being accepted on those sites - i mean
most of those people were postgrads of the’idi amin school of public
relations’!
I may be mistaken, but I think the original is "good poets borrow,
great poets steal"
Kevin,
You may be right. When I heard it, Steve Jobs said something like “I
think it was Picasso who said…”
On the other hand, that was some years ago, and my old jeweler’s
mind is…
However, your point is interesting, as it reminds of my poetry
professor in college, Phil Levine, whose grading scale ranged from
“crap”, through “okay”, “okay plus”, with the highest grade being
“I’m going to steal this!” When you steal something, you make it
your own.
The jewelry business is rife with knock offs, copies, blatant
thievery of all kinds. My feeling (actually “stolen” from Alan
Revere), is: “go ahead and try to knock me off. I’ll just keep coming
up with more and more design ideas and concepts. You can’t keep
up…”
If you publish it, someone will probably steal it. If that worries
you, don’t publish it.
I was in class last week and my instructor mentioned that artists
will detail out their new design and then seal it up and mail it
to themselves. It apparently holds up in court.
This old wives tale needs to be shot dead. The legal and court
processes DO NOT work that way and no attorney I know that has looked
has been able to find even a single documented case of “popping up”
with a sealed envelope working successfully (court records are very
well and thoroughly searched and indexed). If you (excuse me)
idiotically think this sealed envelope trick will work then let me
tell you how to do it. Take 3 sheets of paper, fold them carefully
and put them in an envelope, tuck the flap of the envelope in (do not
seal it), address the envelope to yourself, apply postage and send
it. When it arrives set the envelope aside so that you can pop
whatever design you want into it then seal it and, voila, you have
your “proof” you sent that design to yourself on whatever date the
cancellation is on the envelope—NOT!
In fact the general rule is that the courts will be QUITE SEVERE
against the interests of those who try to bypass it with their own
“law.” Most likely not only would your “popped up” envelope be
laughed out of court, any copyright rights you would ordinarily have
inherently had will be SHOT DEAD as a memorable lesson intended to
teach you to not mess with the law again.
And as far as instructors who teach such nonsense . . . I would
place a bet that better than 30% of what they “teach” is just flat
wrong and they don’t know any better. “Question authority” is a great
motto to live by and everyone should—especially when they are
ignorant and seeking instruction (e.g., standard classroom attendees).
The simple rule is learn from multiple sources but understand how to
evaluate the solidness of your sources too—many lesser sources, and
most instructors are lesser sources, need to be taken with a big grain
of salt. Once you have data from multiple, including at least 2
genuinely authoritative sources, —and you actually understand (rote
doesn’t count)— then you can make an informed choice on what is
correct. Hey, it still may be wrong but stay open to evaluating new
data (and the authoritativeness of its source) FOREVER and someday,
maybe, you’ll finally be blessed with a brain full of only correct
knowledge.
Of course in the meantime you’ll need the wisdom to know when to
keep your mouth shut to so you don’t become one of the lesser-lesser
sources of mis…
Another quote, from Satchel Page: “Don’t look over your shoulder,
someone may be catching up.”
There has been a lot of chat about lawyers and legalisms. Unless
you’re someone like David Yurman, (probably a big company with
attorneys on retainers), do you think an attorney would take a
jewelry knockoff case? And do you know what something like that would
cost if you could get an attorney?
We’re supposed to be creative. It’s not like we’re coming up with
one big idea. A lot of creative time could be lost pondering the
legal aspects. Why not work on creating jewelry rather than thinking
of ways to get lawyers involved and covering your a**.
I don’t really mind when people call me names on worldwide
discussion forums, but I do mind if I am spreading misinformation
about something. I would be really interested to find out the answer
to these issues. I am certainly not a lawyer as one so experienced as
yourself can see, but I’m intrigued now. I’ve heard many people talk
of the envelope trick, as you call it, and I would love to get to the
bottom of this. Is there anyone on the forum who is very experienced
in the area of copyright protection who would like to post their
thoughts? If there is, thanks in advance for helping us to sort this
out.
When it arrives set the envelope aside so that you can pop
whatever design you want into it then seal it and, voila, you have
your "proof" you sent that design to yourself on whatever date the
cancellation is on the envelope---NOT!
I don’t question your expertise in this area, nor your conclusions;
but you could not do this with a registered mail package which must
be sealed before the post office will process it. I take it this
doesn’t make any difference?
This has been a very interesting discussion, and I am really
enjoying reading it. But I have a semi-rhetorical question(s) for
you all.
There are nearly 3 billion people on the planet, and more than
10,000 years of human history to contend with. So, really…How much
are we actually creating now that is unique enough to stand up to
ANY vigourous (and expensive) prosecution/defense of design?
What standards can apply? How unique is unique enough? How can any
of us know that the particular bend of wire or arrangement or
whatever hasn’t been done before? Maybe some unremembered memory
from childhood prompts an inspiration, or an unacknowledged glance
at a magazine in a doctor’s office spurs a unique twist, or a
visit to a museum or a cafe or any tens of thousands of other
exposures that barely register in our minds. We try and try and try
to be unique and unusual, but how much really, truely is?
I’m so totally a neophyte in some ways, and I want to be as unique
as possible, but short of living in a glass bubble (which isn’t too
far from my actual life as an at-home-mother & artisan) how can you
know that you are, in fact, different?
Maybe this is why I love funky chunks of jasper, agate and turquoise
and the like – mother nature has so much better chance at
randomness than we humans do!
Wanting to hear everyone’s thoughts on this from deep within the
heart of Texas, Dawn B.
Since you are mythbusting for us, could you also address a couple of
statements I keep hearing about designs which are:
“It’s ok to copy a design if you change the design by 10%.”
“It’s ok to copy a design if you are using a different stone not
available from the designer.”
I have heard these statements from retail store owners requesting
custom orders. I’ve never felt quite right about it and would like to
know the truth of it.
I suggest visiting the Copyright office and reading their material
– that’s about as authoritative as it gets. www.copyright.gov. If
you want to secure a copyright, the Copyright office’s directions are
surely the way to go!
BTW, I do not understand why anyone would take a chance on these
“poor man” solutions. If you choose to defend your copyrights, you
are going to spend thousands of dollars on lawyers. So why on earth
would you balk at spending the $35 to register a copyright that can
explicitly be defended? Yes, yes, I know you have a number of
designs to copyright, but the fee to properly and legally register
your copyrights is still less than you’re going to pay an attorney to
write cease-and-desist letters. Even if you have hope of getting an
IP attorney to take a case on contingency (not likely, but you never
know) they wouldn’t even consider taking a case without a legally
registered copyright, because an unregistered copyright severely
limits the damages that can be collected.
So if you’re really interested in protecting your copyrights, just go
to www.copyright.gove, download the VA form, and write out a check
for $35. Then you know you have a copyright that will stand up in
court, and don’t have to worry about whether or not “cheap” ways
will be accepted by the court or not. Plus you can actually collect
real damages if you do win!
I would be really interested to find out the answer to these
[copyright] issues.
all right people, it’s time to read up, not listen up: ganoksin has
the world’s best webmaster who organizes and maintains archives of
every subject ever broached by orchid members, so it is now time for
using those archives - in one of my first emails on copyrighting,
posted november 23, 1999, “copyrighting jewelry design” is the
following:
"the following was in an article written by
Matthew G. Rosenberger, Esq. (attorney in the copyright field)
in the december 1997 issue of CraftsReport, see page 33:' what
is copyright? copyright law protects authors of "original works
of authorship" [intellectual property] once the work is
created in a tangible or fixed form. it exists immediately at
the work's creation. when a potter, weaver or jeweler has put
the finishing touches on their work, regardless of their
intentions for the end use of the piece, only the craftsperson
can claim copyright. what rights do copyright owners have?
there are six exclusive rights:
(1) to reproduce the work;
(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the work;
(3) to distribute copies of the work;
(4) to display the work publicly;
(5) to perform the work publicly; and
(6) to perform the work publicly by means of digital audio
transmission (for sound recordings).'
further, it goes on to say,'what is not protected by copyright?
an idea cannot be copyrighted. it is the original expression of
that idea that is protected by copyright law.'further,'how does
one secure a copyright? copyright is automatically secured when
the work is created. while registration is not required to
secure copyright, there are definite advantages to making it
official with the u.s.register of copyrights. further,' how long
does a copyright last? for works originally created on or after
january 1, 1978, copyright protection automatically attaches
from the moment of its creation and is ordinarily given a term
enduring for the author's life plus an additional 50 years
after the author's death. that should answer some of the
questions."
for more you can call the u.s. copyright office
at (202) 707-9100. there's a nonrefundable $20.00 filing fee for
each piece/work registered.
end of archive post
here is my own experience with copyright infringement:
the brand new spring catalog from the world’s largest wholesaler of
findings, etc. arrived and reaching the findings section
i saw the basic component of one of my first designs. i emailed the
company digital images of the design (dated as entered into files)
that had appeared online about a year or so prior. the bottom line of
the very polite and open exchange of the company
canceled orders from the mexican supplier and informed customers that
that item was no longer available. my emails did not contain
ranting, raving or express any negativity, nor was i concerned that
the design had not then been’officially’copyrighted - the law said it
was mine when’it was created’and that stipulation passed the litmus
test with that big wholesale company.
there is no longer a need for any action except entering an image of
2-D or 3-D work into your files.
but you could not do this with a registered mail package which
must be sealed before the post office will process it. I take it
this doesn't make any difference?
It makes not one iota of difference. A) The Post Office cannot swear
what was in the package. B) You can swear all you want that the
package was never unsealed since it was posted/received but no one
has to believe you (do you know how Houdini did his sealed paper bag
escape trick?, I do). C) Generally a judge (or jury) will believe
that if you are “clever” enough to bypass the law by making up your
own then you are probably clever enough to beat your own “law.” D)
Even in civil cases the opposition has the right to examine, test,
know of all evidence BEFORE its appearance in court. Would you
respect a judge who allowed the “evidence” to stand from a plaintiff
who popped-out an unknown (supposedly) sealed envelope and tore it
open in court thereby destroying the possible evidence of prior
tampering with the seal? (Please don’t ask, “What if I cut it open
away from the seals so they can still be examined?” All that does is
get into the “infinite” possibilities of how to cheat (then disguise
it). The best people to break security systems are the ones that
design security systems…)
are we actually creating *now* that is unique enough to stand up
to ANY vigourous (and expensive) prosecution/defense of design? What
standards can apply? How unique is unique enough? How can any of us
know that the particular bend of wire or arrangement or whatever
hasn't been done before?
Reread my prior posts on this thread and my web site. “Unique” is
NOT a requirement for owning a copyright, creating the expression in
a fixed form and it being the right type of expression are the only
requirements. As many people as want to can create (from their own
mind, not necessarily their hands) the exact same rose pendant or
Celtic knot and each of those creators (human or corporation) will
own copyright rights in the rose pendant or Celtic knot. So if you
create the perfect rose pendant and sometime later Joe comes up with
the same idea and creates exactly the same rose pendant — and he
signs a licensing deal with BigCo and starts raking in the royalties
while your sales plummet, hey, that’s the breaks, he’s within his
rights and so is BigCo. You have the right to cry or go to GIGANTA
Amalgamated and license your copyright rights, your choice! You also
have the right, at your own expense to try to prove in court that Joe
copied----you have that right whether you are WRONG or RIGHT in your
belief that Joe copied!
Maybe some unremembered memory from childhood prompts an
inspiration, or an unacknowledged glance at a magazine in a
doctor's office spurs a *unique* twist, or a visit to a museum or a
cafe or any tens of thousands of other exposures that barely
register in our minds. We try and try and try to be unique and
unusual, but how much really, truly is?
None of those is necessarily a problem that would mean you didn’t
“own” the copyright rights of your creative expression. There is, and
it has happened (at least according to the courts), always a slim
possibility that you remember and “copy” or “derive” closely enough
that your supposed work is actually an infringement of someone else’s
rights—it is up to them to prove it in court. One of the tests (and
I can’t remember the exact wording) is related to the “likelihood of
your having seen the work you allegedly infringe.” Of course the more
mass produced and distributed something is the higher your likelihood
thus the more (but still slim) probability the courts will void your
(supposed) copyright. Other tests have to do with the complexity (the
more complex the higher the odds you copied or derived), similarity
of other works (the more other similar creations exist the lower the
odds you “copied” or “derived” sufficiently to have infringed), etc.
So if you're really interested in protecting your copyrights, just
go to www.copyright.gov, download the VA form, and write out a
check for $35. Then you know you have a copyright that will stand
up in court, and don't have to worry about whether or not "cheap"
ways will be accepted by the court or not. Plus you can actually
collect real damages if you do win!
that’s fine if you are making many of the same design…but if I
were to copyright every piece I design, since most are one of a kind,
I would have to include the copyright fee in my sales price for each
item and I’d never get them sold because they would become too
expensive.
the prohibitive indicator in your questions is “copy”. people, if you
are even just thinking about copying any designs, etc.
DON’T. get off of your benchplates and go to the archives!!! again,
it’s archives, search: “copyrighting jewelry designs”. after reading
everything quoted there, you will see that there is no copying
allowed. no. no. no. no.
Another quote, from Satchel Page: "Don't look over your shoulder,
someone may be catching up."
Yes, that is the direction I was heading, and I agree with you 100%.
A couple more quotes:
“It’s the one who won’t be taken who never learns to give and the
soul afraid of dying who never learns to live…”-sung by Bette
Midler, writer unknown.