Question about copyright

[Mike Null]

Greek symbols as related to Greek organizations are protected. Using a single symbol is not.

[Joseph Shawa]

If it doesn't have a copyright stamp or watermark then I cannot see how one would determine if there were indeed a copyright on it.

If you just need to know then ask the customer or better yet let them know that you need a signed letter from them assuring you that "All artwork submitted is original design by them or non copyrighted work. It seems that would be reasonable. Otherwise you will only be engraving geometrical shapes....well, at least the ones that aren't already copyrighted.

Anyway, the fine is a minimum of $200 and the court might actually grant you permission to continue to infringe with a fair commission to be paid to the owner.

[Matt McCoy]

If it doesn't have a copyright stamp or watermark then I cannot see how one would determine if there were indeed a copyright on it.

If you just need to know then ask the customer or better yet let them know that you need a signed letter from them assuring you that "All artwork submitted is original design by them or non copyrighted work. It seems that would be reasonable. Otherwise you will only be engraving geometrical shapes....well, at least the ones that aren't already copyrighted.

Anyway, the fine is a minimum of $200 and the court might actually grant you permission to continue to infringe with a fair commission to be paid to the owner.

Copyright is granted as soon as the work is made. A trademark must be registered. If the IP holder or agent discovers infringement, you may get a cease and desist, judgment against you, or both. See a few posts prior, where a gentleman stated he was lucky that he only had to pay $5,000 and destroy his inventory. You might reevaluate the last sentence in your post.

[Kev Williams]

-paying a commission to the owner is the definition of NOT infringing ...

[Dave Sheldrake]

the fine is a minimum of $200 and the court might actually grant you permission to continue to infringe

The statutory damages alone if the infringement is wilful and for commercial purpose can be up to $150,000 per item.

For reference EU trademarks are not required to be registered, there is a difference between R and TM over here and both are equally valid worldwide.

[Joseph Shawa]

"The statutory damages alone if the infringement is wilful and for commercial purpose can be up to $150,000 per item."

1. Willful. That is why you get a letter of assurance from customer that the work is un copyrighted.
2. $200. Yes up to $150,000 but we aren't talking copying a Maserati.
3. Per "Item". No, it is per not each work infringed not each work made
Also there are the considerations that favor fair use.

1. It is a small amount relative to the market.
2. Licencing or permissions are unavailable.
3. Small effect on the market.

Yes, there is one line that scares me in there, the rebel that I am,

1. Infringer pays for all attorneys fees and court costs

Anyway, not to be argumentative and certainly I wouldn't "steal" anyones work to make a profit off of it, but I don't like my hands tied such that I am afraid to do anything because I don't know if it's copyrighted or not.
You could always just rent them the machine and have them push the start button themselves you are not so sure.

[Scott Shepherd]

Anyway, not to be argumentative and certainly I wouldn't "steal" anyones work to make a profit off of it, but I don't like my hands tied such that I am afraid to do anything because I don't know if it's copyrighted or not.
You could always just rent them the machine and have them push the start button themselves you are not so sure.

It's quite easy to not violate copyright laws. It all depends on who you target as your customers. If you are working flea markets, you'll probably get asked 5 out of 5 times if you can do a Harley logo. If you deal with professionals, then you'll get asked 0 out of 5 times to violate copyright laws.

[Matt McCoy]

"The statutory damages alone if the infringement is wilful and for commercial purpose can be up to $150,000 per item."

1. Willful. That is why you get a letter of assurance from customer that the work is un copyrighted.
2. $200. Yes up to $150,000 but we aren't talking copying a Maserati.
3. Per "Item". No, it is per not each work infringed not each work made
Also there are the considerations that favor fair use.

1. It is a small amount relative to the market.
2. Licencing or permissions are unavailable.
3. Small effect on the market.

Yes, there is one line that scares me in there, the rebel that I am,

1. Infringer pays for all attorneys fees and court costs

Anyway, not to be argumentative and certainly I wouldn't "steal" anyones work to make a profit off of it, but I don't like my hands tied such that I am afraid to do anything because I don't know if it's copyrighted or not.
You could always just rent them the machine and have them push the start button themselves you are not so sure.

"Copyright law is a “no fault” law. If any one of these exclusive rights are violated, there is no excuses. The reason for the infringement has no merit."

"For any work registered with the U.S Copyright Office prior to an infringement or within three months of the works publication is entitled to statutory damages, which range from a minimum of $750 to a maximum of $30,000 per infringement, the specific amount being determined by the court."

"...intentionally and knowingly violated his or her copyright, then the damage award increases to a range of $30,000 to $150,000 per infringement."

Here's a little reading for you. ^^^

Keep in mind that when you lose in court, you will likely also have to pay legal fees and court costs for the party suing you.

[Lynn Misanti]

We had a client come in with a coffee table book of photographs that he wanted us to make placemats for his cafe with the cafe logo on the photo. I looked into the rights on the photos. He could use them for his purposes if he paid $5000 royalty fee per photo (there were 30 of them) to use them. He tried to get us to make them without the fee but we explain the law to him. He seemed to understand. A few months later I go there with my mom to have lunch, he had them done online by someone who didn't care about copyrights. The whole cafe has the placemats with the picture he does not have the rights to and his logo emblazoned on it.

[Scott Shepherd]

We had a client come in with a coffee table book of photographs that he wanted us to make placemats for his cafe with the cafe logo on the photo. I looked into the rights on the photos. He could use them for his purposes if he paid $5000 royalty fee per photo (there were 30 of them) to use them. He tried to get us to make them without the fee but we explain the law to him. He seemed to understand. A few months later I go there with my mom to have lunch, he had them done online by someone who didn't care about copyrights. The whole cafe has the placemats with the picture he does not have the rights to and his logo emblazoned on it.

It'll catch up with them. I remember seeing some guy post some photos of a wrap he did on come company trucks for a client. He was bragging about how awesome it looked. It was all black with skulls all over it and his clients were very happy with it and taking it to all of their events. Then someone realized that the skull images was actually a famous photograph from a pile of skulls in Cambodia, from a war. The original photographer of the photo contacted the guy and told him those skulls were human remains from a war, and not something to used on an advertising campaign. He lawyered up and the guy had to go back to the client and remove the entire wrap and start with a new design. His customers were not happy. The guy disappeared off the forum after that, so I don't know what ever happened, but just because you can, doesn't mean you should, in the case of copyright.

[John Lifer]

Online, HMMM, Several of those guys are in Canada..... a lot in China, who cares no whit for any of our trademark or copyrite laws.

[Kev Williams]

Questions-- I find a piece of copyrighted art online, I download it, and print it on MY T-shirt for MY use--
--did I violate copyright law?

Same thing with Trademarks-- Can General Motors or Harley Davidson tell me I can't copy a bowtie or HD shield logo off one of their ads and print it on my own T-shirt?

[Gary Hair]

Questions-- I find a piece of copyrighted art online, I download it, and print it on MY T-shirt for MY use--
--did I violate copyright law?

Same thing with Trademarks-- Can General Motors or Harley Davidson tell me I can't copy a bowtie or HD shield logo off one of their ads and print it on my own T-shirt?

Yes, they could tell you that. Are you going to get caught? Not likely. Are they really going to pursue you? Not likely. Still doesn't make it right...

[Joseph Shawa]

Agreed.How much did you pay for that Steeler's logo? I would never duplicate it on my machine.

[Scott Shepherd]

Agreed.How much did you pay for that Steeler's logo? I would never duplicate it on my machine.

You might want to study "Fair Use" before suggesting I'm violating copyright laws by using the Steelers Logo as an Avatar on a forum.

Call my shop and ask if we'll create a Steelers decal for you. The answer is no.