How do I protect my designs and t shirt slogans for others copying and selling my ideas?
How do I protect my designs and t shirt slogans for others copying and selling my ideas?
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Re: Copyright protection
Two of my designs were ripped by members of Threadless and are now being printed on threadless.
I confronted one of the designers about it, and he said he came up with the same idea as me and it's just a coincidence. I want to believe him but I know he saw my design, and it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Two of my designs were ripped by members of Threadless and are now being printed on threadless.
I confronted one of the designers about it, and he said he came up with the same idea as me and it's just a coincidence. I want to believe him but I know he saw my design, and it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
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7,117 Posts
Re: Copyright protection
Your best bet is to do some reading at here U.S. Copyright Office. That is where you would copyright your designs. Just remember that a copyright is only effective, if you actually have the money to file a suit and go to court to defend the copyright. Most people are not out to steal your designs, but if someone wants to, there is really nothing you can do to stop them other then going to court to defend it, which I said above takes money.
Your best bet is to do some reading at here U.S. Copyright Office. That is where you would copyright your designs. Just remember that a copyright is only effective, if you actually have the money to file a suit and go to court to defend the copyright. Most people are not out to steal your designs, but if someone wants to, there is really nothing you can do to stop them other then going to court to defend it, which I said above takes money.
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51,818 Posts
This is not legal advice, just opinion. If you want/need legal advice, you should talk to a lawyer.
You can't protect someone from stealing your idea. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.
There's no "shield" or "block" you can buy or register that would stop someone from the physical act of taking your designs or ideas.
However, you can register your completed designs as a copyright with the US Copyright office (assuming you are in the US). This won't "stop" someone from actually taking it, but it will show that you created the design first and give you more legal standing if you decide to legally try to stop someone from using the design.
T-Shirt "slogans" generally aren't copyrightable, however, if you can prove your t-shirt slogan is also a "brand" (like "Just Do It" or "Life is Good"), you could qualify for a TRADEMARK. This still wouldn't "stop" somoene from actually taking it (unless they were conscientious enough to search the US trademark database and decide not to move forward on their own if they saw it was registered). However, owning the trademark can help you have more legal standing if you want to get people to stop using your brand name without your permission.
Many t-shirt lines have been started and run successfully without filing a single trademark or copyright. Many t-shirt lines have been started and run successfully by filing for a trademark for their brand and a copyright on each design.
You need to have money to file a copyright and money to apply for a trademark (use the links in the "Resources" section off to the left hand side menu of this site). You would also need money to hire a lawyer to protect your copyright or trademark.
My personal opinion is that people are "generally" overly worried about people stealing ideas/designs. Does it happen? Yes. But I think more often than not, if you have an original design, your best bet is to get that design onto some t-shirts and start selling before someone else does. If it's your original design, you probably have more passion, ideas, and marketing methods since you originated it. You can probably sell your design better than anyone else could. By selling it first, you can establish yourself as the "original" and you can even get a reality check to see if your idea/design is as great as you think it is.
That's just my opinion though.
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18 Posts
Rodney, great and thorough response! When I started my company, I included Trademarking and Attorney costs in my business plan. I am happy to say my logo is now registered. But, it is costly. I wasn't so worried about the family of designs as I was the brand.
The best protection against people ripping your design if you don't have the money to prosecute is You thought we wouldnt notice...
If you don't have any money to take on the big guys this is your next best option.
I've also been a part of a group of designers that called ourselves the manticores. Whenever we found a rip we would verbally assault the offending party with our quick wit. Sometimes it would get out of hand, but it usually did the trick.
If you don't have any money to take on the big guys this is your next best option.
I've also been a part of a group of designers that called ourselves the manticores. Whenever we found a rip we would verbally assault the offending party with our quick wit. Sometimes it would get out of hand, but it usually did the trick.
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