[nim52]

There's two things Im wondering about.

If you make a shirt with your artwork on it, no one can start using it to sell tshirts even if you didn't go through the hassel of getting your ownership in writing, right?

And how.... not sure how to phrase this, but how original does it have to be for you to claim copyright on it? I saw a t-shirt recently that just said "SIN" and then "like you mean it" right underneath it. Can no one make a shirt that says that without breaking copyright?

 

[JeridHill]

Any artwork you do that is not a duplication of someone else's art is copyrighted the instant you do it and you should always place a © symbol on it with your name and date. But that does not give you protection. When you pay to have it copyrighted, then it's protected, in theory. If someone started using your work, you would write a letter to have them remove it from their sellable items or you will pursue legal action. The problem comes with even if it is copyrighted, it costs money to pursue it. So more than not, people don't pursue it.

My take is, by placing the symbol on your artwork, it will deter someone from using it. If you do have someone using your artwork, they are going to do it with or without the symbol, so you might as well focus more on selling and burn that bridge when you get there!