Trademark Basics
One of the required courses at Arizona State University's design program was copyright law. We all took the course reluctantly, thinking it couldn't possibly have an impact on our design professions. Boy were we wrong.
Whether you're designing logos, brochures, web sites, signs or ads, there are legal implications that could potentially get you in hot water.
For example, I designed a sign and ads that used my hand drawn silhouette of a famous person. Great looking sign, and part of a very good campaign. But less than a month after it posted, we received a cease and desist order from the famous person's family estate. After checking with an attorney friend, my use of the likeness of the person - didn't matter if it was a photograph or scribble - was indeed a copyright infringement. We scuttled the sign and the rest of the campaign as a result to avoid some very expensive legal fees.
Could this have been avoided? Probably. Had I been more knowledgeable about the law, I would seen the conflict right up front.
So, my advice to designers is to familiarize yourself with the law as it pertains to copyrights and trademarking. You don't have to become a lawyer, but you should have a working knowledge of the basics. The law works the other way, as well - it protects your work from being plagiarized.
The attached article from Step Magazine, July 2008, is a very good starting point. There are also other resources online.
Knowledge is power.
Posted by System in Law | July 11, 2008
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