I came up with a name for my buisness ... its 2 words a slightly famous fraze and then Designs ... i did alot of searching and didnt find any buisness with the name ... but i did find one with the 2 words then Fashion ... if i still did "Bla Bla Designs" could it be taken up as copy writen?
It's trademark you have to worry about, not copyright, and yes, that is similar enough to cause problems if the other company chooses to dispute your right to use the name.
I have a question regarding copy right... if i sell a t-shirt with a cartoon character or video game character on it. e.g. Super Mario... is tht legally allowed? what if i modify the character a little to give it a different theme.
I have seen many people do it. But i am not sure if they are being lucky or they dont know any better.
my business is based on ebay. how often do people get sued on ebay? or CAN u get sued on ebay or just the account suspension.
someone please clear my thoughts here... i wud really appriciate that
Thankx
Uzii
Any image that is owned by someone else, i.e. well-known cartoon characters, should not be reproduced and sold without a licensing agreement from the owner of the artwork. You could potentially be putting yourself at huge legal risk if you are selling these images without permission.
Just wondring if i search the net for pictures , I find tons of pics that i can save and print , how do i know if a picture is legal to use if it is not marked as so.
I mean I know Brand Names I cant produce but let's say for example the skull pictures i find.
I am new here and will be posting questions in other spots after i read more of the forum ut this question I have been wondering.
Most likely if you are finding pics from other peoples sites they are not legal for you to use as they are owned by that person. Unless you find royalty free images with a user agreement that allows for them to be printed on resalable materials, it is illegal for you to use them and can potentially set you up to be sued for infringment.
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Always do right; this will gratify some people and astonish the rest. ~~~Mark Twain BobbieLee
I advise you to tread real light on making sirts with art not owned by you or designated as royalty free. This is a quick way get sued for copyright infringement. I have customers all the time wanting me to make custom shirts with famous cartoon charecters, I turn them down and explain why.I won't tskr the risk for a few dollars profit. I know someone who made this mistake and got a letter telling them to stop or leagal action would commense. I know one company that will come after you really quick is Harley Davdson. They will protect their name at all cost. Good luck. ....... JB
Most sites that offer graphics have very specific guidelines on how and when you can use them -- many are available for commercial use, like GoMedia, but if you're not certain about an image or you know you're just capturing an image off the net you could really get yourself in trouble. Any time you're in doubt, always ask permission first; the ask forgiveness afterwards approach could cost you a bundle!
my business is based on ebay. how often do people get sued on ebay? or CAN u get sued on ebay or just the account suspension.
someone please clear my thoughts here... i wud really appriciate that
Thankx
Uzii
You already received excellent advice from the others on the copyright infringement part of your question.
The other part is Ebay. Ebay will not sue you. Ebay loves that you are listing and paying all sorts of fees to them. But selling copyrighted works on Ebay could lead to these problems:
1. Ebay does have something called Vero = verified rights owner. Here's a link to that page so you can read it. Your auctions can be pulled if someone claims it infringes on their rights. How eBay Protects Intellectual Property (VeRO)
2. The copyright owner sees you and decides to have their lawyers contact you with a C&D letter, or a lawsuit to defend their copyright.
But Ebay themselves will not police you. A friend of mine asked Ebay how so many images that are clearly copyrighted be allowed to be listed. Ebay's response to her was that as long as someone wasn't claiming to be "that company", say Disney for Disney Princess items, and as long as the person didn't say their items were officially licensed, Ebay said they were fine with the listings. Why? Well, the only reasons I could come up with are because: 1. It's not Ebay who is being infringed on, and 2. If you get caught and slapped with a lawsuit, Ebay is not going to court with you.
Ebay understands what sells, and if you are willing to sell it, they stand to profit off of your risk. They are not liable for your listings whatsoever, so they only stand to profit. Everything else is on you. That's the only logical thing I could conclude based on their response to the question. Other folks may have different theories. This is mine, and why there are some many questionable listings on Ebay. Some of the sellers will have licenses to sell merchandise, and I think some don't. But each person has to mind their own candy store, if you know what I mean.
Hope this helps shed some light by sharing some of the things I've learned from Ebay. Best regards, Uzii.
Last edited by Girlzndollz; May 31st, 2008 at 05:38 PM.
I bought some designs on ebay and thought , I was buying a legitimate item. I found out a year later through a letter from a attorney differently. I was told to either pay a 500 dollar fee to the owners of the copyright or be sued for 3,000,000 dollars. I contacted my attorney and he advised me to settle. The attorney fees were a lot more than the 500 dolarrs asked for. This is the kicker to the story Ebay and the Seller made a deal with the designer to supply all records of who they sold them to in exchange for not being named in a lawsuit. Ebay and the Seller sold out the unsuspecting consumers.This is the reason why, I don't buy software or designs from Ebay. I shared this story to warn all of you . Ebay is out to make a profit and they will sell their customers out to save themselves everytime. ...... JB
Ha, thank you, JB, for sharing your experience, and my condolences to you for having lived thru it. After hearing what happened to you, I am giving more weight to my theory. I thank for you confirming my suspicions, bc something just didn't smell right with their answers. Long story short and in other words, right, CYA when it comes to listing and buying on Ebay.
Copy Rights Question 
