I have made all my designs up now and im really happy with them but ive recently started thinking how the hell do i stop someone else copying it somewhere else? I mean i have only heard of copywriting, TM and the little R symbol?
Baseball bats and guys named Vinny / Charlie / Trev depending on whereabouts you are.
But legal ones? No - just trademarking, copyrighting, cease & desist letters, lawyers, etc. Nothing is really preventative, you just have to hope for the best and be prepared to go after people who infringe on your IP if you want to see anything done about it.
The basic principle is registration + legal action.
I heard someone say a good way to win in court when protecting ideas is to do what professional screenwriters do. Mail your design/product to yourself.. keep it sealed... the date on from the Post Office will be on the outside. You'll have established that it was your idea first.
Mail your design/product to yourself.. keep it sealed... the date on from the Post Office will be on the outside. You'll have established that it was your idea first.
That will achieve nothing but cost you postage. Poor Man's Copyright is a myth.
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I'm facing the same situation at the moment. What would be the most effective way of protecting designs you've come up with yourself? I mean, aside from cost, what is the difference between registering a design and obtaining a trademark..? I'm a little confused
Theres is ONE ABSOULUTE way to protect your designs from being stolen.
DON'T put them out into the public arean. Keep them locked away were only you can see them.
If currency can't be protected,
If thousand dollar programs can't be protected (and yea dongles can be defeated)
If masterpiece art works can't be protected
How are you gonna protect a design on a tshirt. ??? Your not. Plain and simple.
All you can do is take the steps to protect yourself so when it happens you can ***** slap the person in court.
Quite frankly I believe everyone here has some sort of illegal dvd/software/t-shirt/ item in their dwelling or made one. It might be a shirt they made when they first got their gear or a buddy asked if the could make a logo of a team and did it just to see if you could or buddy made a dvd copy of a great movie. Everyone has something.
regardless of how tight you protect your designs etc...it matter little if you do not have the $$ to mount a court action. Attorneys in this type action want $$ up front and a court action would reach the thousands of dollars and then some...so just enjoy this business and worry less about the cheaters
Protecting my designs 
Re: Protecting my designs 
