This is a little something I learned in a copyright law presentation the other day and thought was applicable to our developers here on this board. I post this because I get alot of questions about the subject and thought it would be cool to let folks know that there are ways to protect yourself from copyright infringement that are low cost.
-
First Use.
This term is pretty important when it comes to proving who had it first. Basically whoever can prove their concept is original by showing theirs was created first wins. Now why am I telling you this? Kirupa keeps back-ups and vbulletin time stamps posts so essentially you can use the forums as sort of a copright protection system. Say if someone has your logo post all over a fleet of vans and they started their company last year. But you posted your logo on the boards 4 years ago. You may be able to ask K for a back up report for proof that yours was created first. It works better since K is a third party with no connection to yourself, this works the same with email as well. Back up your emails. So the moral of the story is; when particpating here in a logo challenge or what have you. It is better to post your entry in the thread rather than send by email or IM. Not all the way protection but these days we need all we can get. -
Poor man’s copyright
Another good thing you can do is. Mail your design to yourself from another mail box. Then when you recieve your mail DO NOT OPEN IT. The post office seal is a federal seal and could quite possibly stand up in court for copyright infringement as a federal seal is legally binding. I do this from time to time if I think there is a chance I will get ripped off. Not sure how the postal system is handled abroad but here in the States the postal system is a federal system. But nothing beats the good copyright application, but that costs money and I know some of us are pretty strapped for cash.
- DPI
I stress this to the younger folks or the paranoid. Do not post large size documents. If you post a small representation there is less chance that the logo is use-able. And please folks stop with the watermarks. While you may feel it is doing you some good. It is uterly useless without the date stating when it was created. On my doc you see at the bottom I do have a copyright statement, my logo and the date. That is really all that is needed.
Well that is my little spill on protecting your images. Feel free to add to this thread. As I find out more I will add to this first post. Keep in mind some of this stuff may only work in the US. But always check with your local County/City government for more information.
That concludes this public service announcement. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
