I am a logo designer and a million times I have seen my logo being copied by somebody else, I want to know if there is an organization through which we can get a copyright license on logos and other forms of creative work?? Do i have to get a license from an Indian organization or is there any global authority that has some protocols and standards. Please post your answers here. Thanks in advance, Harsh
I think you should consult a lawyer to protect your work, if you can't afford it at this time then there is always the chepo way by certify a letter to yourself with your work and don't open the envelope. I'm not sure if that only works in the movies ;-)
Anything you create is automatically copyrighted, you don't have to submit it somewhere. I find it weird you say your logos are copied so many times ? Do you mean the exact logo ? Then it's the problem of the customer who paid you to make a logo.. but I don't understand that someone would use this.. if the customer has registered his name (trademark) then he can also sue for infringement of that. Or do you mean someone makes a logo that is similar to yours ? Ie you make a green circle with a red triangle in it, and someone copies it to make a yellow circle with a blue triangle in it ? If this is what you mean, there is not a lot you can do.. Only in very specific cases, if the logos are trademarked by a company, and the infringing logo is used by a company with similar activities (so there can be confusion between the two) then they can sue. But as a logo designer it's not your task.
Twice a year (sooner if you create stuff faster) send a CD to the US Copyright office and officially file all works with them. I believe the cost is $45 per CD. With that, you can have any site or content pulled down by going directly through hosts. And lawyers will take your case easily. http://www.copyright.gov/docs/fees.html
Thanks BlueSquares flippers.be HowHotels.com for helping me out. BTW many DP designers encounter such issues everyday see this --- http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=459437 I think i need to watermark my work from now on. Thanks anyway, Harsh
Watermark is a must for designers bro, and moreover, you can get a creative commons license if you see that fit. Its free... so go and apply. I am a theme designer and all my work are actually protected by creative commons share alike 3.0. However, since you deal with images, I think you should apply for their founder's copyright license, it only cost $1 but is really effective.