[JCJXXL]

After a couple of years of kicking some shirt ideas around, a friend convinced me to move forward with my ideas.

We're in the final stage of submitting the artwork to the printer for screen printing. Should I watermark my designs or put some type of copyright notification on them?

I've filed a trademark on my company name and also filed a copyright on the company logo. So the protection I have filed is for the company name and "look". As for the designs themselves I don't officially have anything on paper. I understand that there is some type of copyright common law where once a piece of art is created it does have some legal protection. But do I need to go as far as copyrighting each and every design before submitting them for print or will a simple statement of copyright on the artwork be good enough to let the printer know that I don't want my work stolen.

I hope that makes sense. I'm exhausted and now after rereading my post I don't know if I worded it correctly.

Thanks to everyone in advance!

 

[kimura-mma]

We're in the final stage of submitting the artwork to the printer for screen printing. Should I watermark my designs or put some type of copyright notification on them?

Only add a watermark or copyright notice to your artwork if you want it to appear on the actual printed shirt. But to be honest, I'm not really sure what the motivation would be for doing this. If you think the printer is going to steal your artwork, then don't use that printer. If you think consumers or competitors are going to steal your artwork, then don't sell your shirts. Because adding watermarks and notices isn't going to prevent stealing.

My point is, if you want to sell your artwork, you need to release it into the market. And yes, there are risks of your artwork being stolen. But you need to figure out what your goals are... To sell your artwork or to protect your artwork.

I've filed a trademark on my company name and also filed a copyright on the company logo. So the protection I have filed is for the company name and "look".

Typically, logos are eligible for trademark, not copyright. You may very well get a copyright for the logo, but it's probably not the protection you're looking for. Registering the brand name is generally enough, though, so you should be ok.

As for the designs themselves I don't officially have anything on paper. I understand that there is some type of copyright common law where once a piece of art is created it does have some legal protection. But do I need to go as far as copyrighting each and every design before submitting them for print

Works of art, such as t-shirt designs, are technically copyrighted once they are in fixed form. Registering for official copyright date stamps a proof of ownership. While this does help if you ever needed to prove ownership in court, it doesn't really offer much else in practical value. And it certainly is not a requirement before sending them to print.

But if you wanted official copyright on each design, you would need to submit each one. Or I believe you could submit them as a "book" of designs, where you could have all designs copyrighted under one submission.

Again, all of this depends on what your motivation is. Often times, t-shirt designs come and go (you print them, you sell them, you move on to new designs). So spending the time, effort and money in copyrighting may not always be worth it.

or will a simple statement of copyright on the artwork be good enough to let the printer know that I don't want my work stolen.

Printers are in the business of printing, not stealing art. It would be a quick way to lose customers if they developed this sort of reputation. Not to mention, you could sue them. So printers generally know that you don't want your art stolen.

In my opinion, it's unnecessary to mark the artwork itself to prevent the printer from stealing it. You could just let the printer know verbally. Or even have them sign an agreement that they can only print this artwork for you with your authorization.

And finally, it's important to understand that registering trademarks and copyrights does not automatically prevent infringement. Unfortunately, there are people out there who steal intellectual property. But registrations do offer legal recourse. So it is ultimately up to the owner to aggressively protect their IP by taking legal action against infringement.

 

[TshirtGuru]

Well said Tim. I find it annoying and a bit offensive when a customer sends me art for a quote and it has watermarks all over it. If the printer really wants to steal your artwork, they can still steal it with the watermarks on it. And as Tim said, if you don't trust the printer enough that you'd use a watermark, don't use them. We aren't in this business to steal artwork, we're here to make money printing. Anyhow, most printers are better artists then most customers .

 

[JCJXXL]

Several good points guys. Thanks for the info. I definitely trust the printer. I guess it is just "newbie paranoia".