Copyright: Do you know...

[Rad]

I make Beadie Buddies and I have made my own pattern for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I am curious if anyone knows if my personal pattern falls under the generic copyright law that artwork does: I created it, therefore no one else "should" use it without my permission, theoretically.

What I'm wondering is if I were to apply for an official copyright and receive it, if someone were to 'take' my pattern and use it, could I pursue legal action?






These are Beadie Buddies:

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[Kiwi]

I'm not sure how it would work... but you might not be able to get a copyright since TMNT are already under a copyright as their own brand. You would probably have to get licensing permission from the creators of TMNT.

[joey]

Since your product is already based off of a licensed product I'm going to guess no to the legal action.  Legally, you would need to purchase and secure the rights to exclusively produce 'beadie buddy' Ninja Turtles.  If you were to call it something else, you might be able to secure a patent for your pattern. 

However, if someone is 'inspired' by your design and alters it slightly, you would have no claim against him/her.  This is a problem the entire design world faces everyday unfortunately.  I have friends who's designs for hats and clothing have blatantly been stolen from places like the GAP and there was nothing they could really do about it.

And I think at the end of the day, to pursue legal action for something like that would end up costing you a lot of money.

Hope that gives you a bit of perspective.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Since your product is already based off of a licensed product I'm going to guess no to the legal action.  Legally, you would need to purchase and secure the rights to exclusively produce 'beadie buddy' Ninja Turtles.  If you were to call it something else, you might be able to secure a patent for your pattern. 

However, if someone is 'inspired' by your design and alters it slightly, you would have no claim against him/her.  This is a problem the entire design world faces everyday unfortunately.  I have friends who's designs for hats and clothing have blatantly been stolen from places like the GAP and there was nothing they could really do about it.

And I think at the end of the day, to pursue legal action for something like that would end up costing you a lot of money.

Hope that gives you a bit of perspective.

Sadly it's all about who has the bigger lawyers.  This is why many artists end up employed by these agencies - their art is protected from general public free-for-all use, but they don't get to own it either. 

[kaoskat]

Looks like you have your answer. Good luck with your beadie buddies.

[Eviecorn]

Pretty much what joey said.  Good luck!

[Galactica]

Yep- good luck.  Your work is considered derivative so you actually have no rights to it yourself unless you are an authorized licensee (which seems unlikely).

[Rad]

I was hoping to hear a personal 'real life' story, thanks joey.

Yeah, I figured I'd get that sort of response... Thanks everyone!

[melodys_angel]

Sorry hun, sounds like it wasnt the answar you were hoping for

[joey]

I was hoping to hear a personal 'real life' story, thanks joey.

Yeah, I figured I'd get that sort of response... Thanks everyone!

You're welcome!  I went to school for Craft and Design and this was definitely a topic that came up often.  It was always frowned upon by teachers when people would use licensed imagery in their work for legal issues among other reasons. 

The personal story I speak of specifically, involves an independent hat company here in Toronto. They started to create a name for themselves for their work and started selling their hats through a high end shop in Manhattan.  The next season at the GAP they saw that their hat design had been copied EXACTLY but with different fabrics. I felt really bad for them.

[Rad]

Yeah, I know I'm toeing a line if I dabble in anything licensed (MLP, TMNT, Care Bears, etc). I'm not that worried about it - if something happens, it'll happen. I was just curious if I could make a statement on my website saying 'I made this specific pattern, please do not take it and use it for your own.' and have any measure to 'back it up.' Meh, whatever. (It's not like beading is a widely-practiced past time, either. )

I watch a lot of people on deviantArt and I was browsing Amazon the other month and I saw a LOT of phone covers that feature stolen artwork. Sadly there is nothing that Amazon will do. The only thing that can be done is for people like me to leave polite but negative comments on the Amazon submission stating that the artwork is stolen. I made a Note on my Facebook account asking my friends and family to help - my husband's aunt helped right away! That warmed my soul.

I'm sorry for your friend - that stinks royally!