copyright infringement?

[fredk]

Copyright laws are slightly different in the UK and Europe. There is no such defence as 'fair use'; breach of copyright is breach of copyright - simple. But as Bob says; how much are you willing to spend on lawyers? Rip off a Disney character and they'll have your ass in court as soon as you blink because they can afford it [or rip off a pop star's image eg Rihanna; a court case in Belfast, small shop printed her image on T-shirts, sold a few dozen shirts. She had them in court. sued, and won thousands of $$]

When a product goes into patent office before a patent is granted a lawyer and a person from the office searches the records to make sure there hasn't already been a patent issued and that the item is not a 'common use' item eg. you can't patent a potato peeler, but you can patent any improvements to make it work better

PS. Note how Tandy do it. They will sell you the plans/patterns to make nice leather goods. They have the copyright in that design usually and they not only encourage you to make that item, but to make more and sell them. What you cannot do is print off that pattern and sell it as your own

 

Edited July 22, 2018 by fredk

[fredk]

Not leather work - its about chocolate.

In short the story proves how hard it is to 'trademark' [or 'copyright'] a shape. The maker of KitKat has not proven its ' distinctiveness'  against rivals' similar bars

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44939819

[BDAZ]

Again, patents, trademarks and copyrights aren't  worth the paper they are printed on until te$ted in court. Interestingly enough, Tobler has reverted to it's original shape this week, probably to protect it's patent. Sue somone for patent infringement and they will immediately counter sue claiming your patent should never have been issued. So all of a sudden you are forced to defend your patent and spend twice as much on lawyers.

 

Edited July 25, 2018 by BDAZ

[Jarednem]

I have been trying to figure the whole copyright thing as well. A couple weeks ago this guy posts books that he made that is a direct replica of my book design (not the artwork) and has them posted for $200 (way more than I would have charged if I had just started). Then posts a picture of my book (with watermark) to show what people are paying for them. FYI my company it JT Laser- N-Leather.

 Does he have a right to copy my book design? He even admitted to copying it and sell it. Do I just have to live with it and compete with him for business?

Edited August 6, 2018 by Jarednem

[BDAZ]

One aspect of patent or copyright is damages.  You can send him a cease and desist letter and he can either ignore it or stop copying your design. You would have to prove that your design is unique and YOU didn't copy it or it's unique design aspects. Quite frankly its a check book cover with a built in pen holder. Nothing unique there. Even if there was you would have to prove damages. How many lost sales due to his product being on the market. My guess is damages wouldn't pay for a lawyers visit to Starbucks.

My advice....fogedaboudit! Spent the time on making and marketing.

 

Bob

[Jarednem]

yea thats what I figured, im not worry about this perticular person out doing me, i was just curious

[kiwican]

No offense but you were not the first to make a leather book cover. Or put an elastic band in it or a pen holder and image. Even tho he said he saw your work and copied it I'd say you have no grounds for anything here. And if you did you should hold onto whatever money you have for when the next person comes along and says you copied their design for your book covers. I'm not meaning to be rude or belittle what you have created but you didn't do it first. If you...or anyone want to win this race then market smart, sell better, sell more and sell faster!

[Jarednem]

yea kinda got that from the first repsonse

 

[BDAZ]

The business side of leather making can be as challenging as the making side... I do think Kiwican came off a bit aggressive and condescending, although I assume he didn't intend to.

Bob 

[charon]

This topic gets me every now and then, great insight @BDAZ, thank you for that. I came across this topic when doing my minimalist cardholders. Accidentally I did the same "design" as a guy that did a (successful) kickstarter with his wallets, he even trademarked the name. While he has my respect for his great marketing skills, the design that he claims his own, is basically a piece of leather wrapped twice around itself, so nothing fancy or even unique. That guy also used lasers to cut the leather and make the stitch holes so there's even not much craftsmanship to it. Interestingly there was another guy doing a kickstarter with a similar design and he was hard pressed (with support of lawyers) to change his design. I don't think this design would stand a chance in a court regardless of the country but it made me think whether I could get trouble continue making these wallets. My conclusion was that I can but that topic never gets out of my mind. I don't know whether this has been discussed somewhere else but I would be highly interested in hearing your thoughts on that particular issue.