Copyrighted Artwork?

Copyright protects the work, not the idea or concept. So, you can recreate the artwork from scratch to look as close as you like as long as you do not use -- in any way -- the actual file/printout that came from the other vendor.

Example: If I shoot a photo of a scene and you shoot a near-as-makes-no-difference photo of the identical scene, we each hold a copyright on our own works that will prevent others from benefiting financially from copying either your photo or my photo but will not prevent a third person from shooting their own photo of the same identical scene and using it.

Another example:

I make a "logo" with a red square with a black diagonal line running upper left to lower right and a white diagonal line running upper right to lower left.

Another party would be infringing my copyright on the work I did if the result of my work (JPG/PDF or whatever) was used in deriving production files without an agreed upon compensation.

If, however, the third party recreates (meaning from scratch) a "logo" with with the same attributes as the "logo" I created, then they are not infringing my copyright because they are not benefitting by using my work.

The design might be the same, but the only way one can protect a design is through the trademark process.

 

Where'd you come up with that idea? Using that logic I can recreate and sell any logo as long as I digitize it myself.

 

heres an idea. IF.YOU ARE WORTH your claim this is a BAD DESIGN........since the owner of that art work wants $750 to use it.........
PRESENT TO THEM, a revised logo, with YOUR DESIGN, market it to the police force as a PACKAGE, with them BUYING YOUR DESIGN, thus they own it, and ask them to bring you any future usage of the design be it on their vehicles, patches, letterheads, business cards
all this for $500..........hummmmmmmmmmmmmm
and tell them you will work with them on the payment, over a set period of time that is acceptable to both!!!!

 

Not if it is trademarked, you can't...

 

A bit off topic.... you can create this from scratch in 15 minutes? I need to hire you

 

Shouldn't be a problem. Google Image Search until you find a similar locomotive. Autotrace it (how that one looks like it was done), the rest is a couple of simple shapes and text placement.

Sounds like a damn fine opportunity to get them to improve on what they've got though and make it the patch company's fault.

 

They may have had a similar logo since 1864 and this one with the copyright mark is something that the previous shop built because the PD's artwork was so bad. Maybe the PD has an older one they own that you can re-create without worrying. I do a lot of big command centers for PD's all over the country and they seldom have decent artwork and love having it cleaned up. Just a thought.

 

That'll teach 'em!

Either the police have to pay the fine OR go back and tell the Embroidery Co. that they don't want a buy out. They just want to license it for vehicle use.
How much would that cost?

That might be something you could do. Tell the Embroiderer you have been asked to do the stickers and how much would a license cost? They probably just want some respect and a license might not cost that much. What's the job worth? That might help put things in perspective.

 

I would be careful with that notion. Pebble Beach has gone after a lot of people that have used that lone cypress tree even though it was the other people's pictures and they have won. So I would be careful.

 

Can you expand on that, please? This tree you speak of -- is it a graphic that comprises a trademarked logo?

 

No, it is a picture of the live cypress tree, not the graphic element.

 

So, you're saying that if I take a photo of this tree, someone will claim I am infringing on their copyright?

 

Very interesting.

Some avenues, I never thought about. ​

So, if I look at a Coca-Cola logo, study it and then draw it from memory and it happens to look identical, I could use it without any harm coming to me or my customer ??

 

He's talking about the Logo.

 

I'm not saying that they will for sure make that claim, but you do run that risk. I know a quilter that had her picture of the real cypress tree printed on the fabric of her quilt. This quilt was in books, it was featured at the Houston International Quilt Festival, it was not sold or mass produced for sale etc, so it's not like that they could make that claim.

That quilt was pulled. Later publications of the book that had pictures of that quilt were changed to not have those pictures in them. It was a big thing in the quilt world. Not exactly something that I'm sure would have been even a blimp on your radar, but it can happen.

 

This is turning into a lesson of Copyright vs. Trade Marks or Service Marks. I have been involved in corporate branding for many years and I highly recommend anyone working with designs has a good understanding of the differences in their country, region, state or province and etc.

-sheldon

 

Same thing happens with big tex at the state fair of Texas. They are super anal about that thing. You can take a picture of it, but they better not find it anywhere.

 

Exactly. The two legal devices offer entirely different protections and are non-overlapping.