Actually, not everyone puts a c notice at the bottom of their designs
Copyright happens at the time the work is created. Adding a circle c doesn't offer you any legal protection.
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or if it has any legal repercussions like...if someone steals my design and I can't do anything about it cuz my design claimed it was copyrighted to "MyCompanyName" and not to MY real name
Generally speaking, you can't get any legal damages unless your copyright is officially registered with the copyright office. In that case, the copyright you put on your designs should match whatever you registered with the copyright office.
If you have your business officially registered and trademarked, then I don't see any problem with using your business name in the copyright notice.
It won't offer you any real legal protection, but it might help deter some people from taking the design. It can also help let others know where to get the design if they see someone else with it.
I do agree you could potentially offend your printer that way. Most probably wouldn't notice/care, but some may think you were questioning their professionalism.
It's the same in the US (it wasn't for a long time, but I think that changed in around '88).
The difference isn't that we don't have to register it, so much as that we can't. Neither country requires it to be protected (just to be financially compensated). In the US the requirement to register before you can claim damages is a pain, but on the plus side you can register the work, making it easy to prove ownership.
Copyright coming into effect from the moment of creation (and without notification) is one of the things internationally agreed upon though, so it's the same in most of the world.
I'm pretty sure it does. Copyright law affects individuals and companies differently, so intellectual property owned by a company would be legally different to that owned by an individual. Or so I seem to recall reading. I understand that this is suitably vague (and therefore non-helpful) but I am mentioning it because I think it is something worth looking into further before you make a decision.
I buy a lot of screen printed stock designs and on almost all of them there's a copyright notice. I don't understand why that would be a problem to the printer.
I don't see how a printer would care at all about a circle C next to a design.
What do they care what the design contains? I hope they wouldn't take that part of their job so seriously. As a circle C on a design is no reflection of their work. The circle C would still be there if the person sent it to a different printer.
I don't think the original poster's question was about protecting themselves from the printer (they just wanted to make sure the artwork was right before they sent the final file to the printer). The question was more about the wording of the copyright notice and how it should read.
This also helps you build up a strong brand presence, since you are associating your company name with your designs.
Not to mention,in a whole other different circumstance,
if some people dont like what you sell, you dont want to give everybody your whole real name XD
I hope I am not misunderstood.
I just want to know if I can legally use my company name as my pseudonym, especially if I trademarked my company name
Yes, it's OK to use your company name in the copyright. Probably a very good idea to use your company name instead of your personal name (for the reasons you listed and more)
Im totaly lost here folks, what are we talking about ?
the little (c) is just an alert... dont even think about it type thing.
if anything, date it and sign it, like on the old transfers. But heck, your design IS your signature, really.....
Agreed, Lucy. It's hardly an issue of any real significance - or likely to be 98% of the time.
Re Solmu's statement regarding the situation in Australia: "The difference isn't that we don't have to register it, so much as that we can't."
No, this is not correct. The difference is that there is no legal imperative whatever in Oz to register copyright, whereas in the States there is - certainly in the case of screenplays, for example. For the sake of other Aussies watching on who may be interested in getting the facts, it is also incorrect that "we can't" [register copyright] in Aust. I am a member of APRA and AMCOS and have registered multiple musical works with both organisations. These bodies function as a means of writers registering works for copyright protection, and as the ONLY practically viable means by which writers of original music get their royalty payments. Further, I am a subscriber of the Australian Copyright Council newsletters, and I can affirm through these that there are other registers around in Australia for creative works in other areas of the arts. I would suggest that anyone who wants to be sure they are getting correct information on copyright issues check with the appropriate official body (free) or a legal specialist (expensive)
Last edited by Rodney; August 10th, 2006 at 12:10 PM.
You can also generally register books with the national library, etc.
My point was in Australia there is no central authority with legal standing as there is in the US. There is no "legal imperative" in either country. Registration is optional (though it has benefits). In the US you can do it if you want to, in Australia you can't. You can register some works with other independent groups, but that's not the same thing (it may be recommended or required for other reasons, such as royalty payments, but that's a separate issue).
There are also a lot more ways to register/lodge written works than visual, the latter being the one that's actually relevant on a t-shirt forum. The Australian Copyright Council actually recommends that artists consider registering their work with the US copyright office.
I doubt you'd get much help out of an official body, but an unofficial body like the Australian Copyright Council is certainly well worth consulting for anyone who needs clarification on Australian copyright law.
Who owns the © to your design? 
Re: Who owns the © to your design? 
Re: Who owns the © to your design? 
