I have a copyright question also. I have some slogans that I want to put on some t-shirts and I wanted to know how to go about copywriting them.
I'm a writer so I'm familiar with the liabrary of Congress copyright system for books and lyrics but I wanted to know was that the same venue that handled t-shirts. Can anyone help me out?
I have a copyright question also. I have some slogans that I want to put on some t-shirts and I wanted to know how to go about copywriting them.
I'm a writer so I'm familiar with the liabrary of Congress copyright system for books and lyrics but I wanted to know was that the same venue that handled t-shirts. Can anyone help me out?
I believe the "trick" is quite similar. Create a "book" of phrases and slogans and then copyright the final product.
I also am looking to copyright some slogans and also my name is that possible? Or would I have to write a small book as well. I am an artist and I am also familiar with the library of Congress but in coping righting music lyrics.
The system is the same, but you can't copyright a short phrase. Nor can you copyright a name. In both cases if you want protection you'd need to trademark, though that's by no means as automatic a process as copyrighting.
also titles can not be copyrighted but the way they are written (font, graphic, etc.) can be. Even lyrics are borrowed from time to time and popular sentence from a movie...one inspires the other. That is why you see movies, music and even phrases on t-shirts over and over again..they weren't done by the same people.
As a poet I have looked into this extensively. My book is also being published this year. I accept that others may borrow my phrasing as the english language only has so many combinations.
I am inspired by music and have borrowed a lyric or changed it a bit to put on my t-shirts in fact I am working on an entire line of tees that are inspired by Christina Aguilera songs.
Trademarks are different although you can only control the phrase in the exact WAY it is presented...with the name of a company no other company can apply for a name in the same industry (competition) that will be confused with yours.
It is not really worth it in fashion, things come and go so fast.
I have seen the same exact phrase on 7 different onsies different art different fonts same words. I have bought them all because they were cute.
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so you're saying that in the t-shirt business, you can't copyright sayings, only the way they're written? So I can go out tomorrow and have some shirts print with what I want them to say on them and not have to get them copywritten unless the font or something is special?
PS Heres a forum queston on the advice site concerining printing quotes on tshirts.
I'm amused that that answer was pretty much as vague and non-committal as the ones we give here. It's also a good example of how you need to be careful to ask the right questions: copyright is not the only relevant hurdle.
(I've read other posts on that site that were actually very specific and helpful though)
You don't, but you can trademark it through the USPTO: Trademarks
Pardon me for asking, but what exactly is a symbol? (Or rather specifially what is a symbol in question?) And why can't it be copyrighted?
Here's Merriam- Webster's online dictionary definition of a symbol:
2: something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance; especially: a visible sign of something invisible <the lion is a symbol of courage>
My point is that if a symbol is a visulal representation of something it must have been created, and if and as a work of art it should have been copyrighted upon creation. For additional (read practical) protection you might want to register your copyright to that work, that's all. Well apparently you cannot copyright a lion, if it happens to be your symbol, but you should be able to copyright your artistic take on it... Am I wrong? Let's take for instance that famous Nike swoosh. If it has not been trademarked, would it not have any protection under copyright laws? All confused now...
I'm making the assumption that by "symbol" he meant "company logo".
Quote:
Originally Posted by andromat
Let's take for instance that famous Nike swoosh. If it has not been trademarked, would it not have any protection under copyright laws?
No, it wouldn't. It's just a fat tick. Copyright doesn't protect trivial devices, phrases, etc. that anyone could come up with. Trademark, on the other hand, can take things that any idiot could have come up with on his own and make them the exclusive property of one company.
If your logo qualifies for copyright protection, it's probably too complicated to make a good logo.
But yes, obviously artwork that happens to be used as a "symbol" can still be copyrighted if it would otherwise qualify
Re: copyright on designs 
