CopyRight Issues

[carlos83eye]

Hi guys,

I recently got hit with a wave of REALLY good ideas for custom frames......

Where do I go to find out if my ideas are copywritten yet.....?

Where can I go to copyright this idea.......?

In a Lady Gaga Era, crazy and out of the ordinary glass are selling, especially in NY.....I have a few custom ideas similar to Fezz's famous beer goggles picture.......

I went to legalzoom, and copyright.gov but I only see things like literature, songs, peoms.....nothing like products, any ideas?

[rbaker]

Get yourself an attorney who specializes in copyright law. There have to be a ton of them in NY.

[AWTECH]

Hi guys,

I recently got hit with a wave of REALLY good ideas for custom frames......

Where do I go to find out if my ideas are copywritten yet.....?

Where can I go to copyright this idea.......?

In a Lady Gaga Era, crazy and out of the ordinary glass are selling, especially in NY.....I have a few custom ideas similar to Fezz's famous beer goggles picture.......

I went to legalzoom, and copyright.gov but I only see things like literature, songs, peoms.....nothing like products, any ideas?

Don't send too much money to copywrite, trademark or patent something if you don't already have a way to sell and promote it. There are so many people who think that because they have a good idea that someone will then do all of the really hard work and make the capital investment to promote this idea and share the profits with them.

The fact is most companies have many good ideas and products that they do not bring to market just because of not having the extra time and/or capital to do so. They find it better to just try to sell more of what is currently making them money. So for someone like this to look to pay someone else for their idea is usually not very realistic.

[Jacqui]

What would really work in NYC, especially the park south, would be one of a kind hand made frames and lenses.

[Chris Ryser]

What would really work in NYC, especially the park south, would be one of a kind hand made frames and lenses.

This is a really not an idea that has to be copyrighted for tons of money, because that has been around forever.

However there are not many people that would be able to it, so the competition would not be very hot and you would have the territory for quite a while to make yourself a name before the next one would jump in.

I have made a few ideas popular over the years without having the funds for full protection and then enforce it. So you grab the advance lead before any competition has had the idea to follow.

[rbaker]

This is a really" not an idea that has to be copyrighted for tons of money, because that has been around forever.

However there are not many people that would be able to it, so the competition would not be very hot and you would have the territory for quite a while to make yourself a name before the next one would jump in.

I have made a few ideas popular over the years without having the funds for full protection and then enforce it. So you grab the advance lead before any competition has had the idea to follow.

Of course there are items such as rimless mountings, guard arms and even hinges which brought their intellectual property owners millions and millions of dollars over the lifespan of the patent.These items were technology and manufacturing methods and not "style" or "fashion" which is short lived.

[shanbaum]

Copyright protection (to put it in simple and approximate terms) extends to works of art. Here's the relevant statute (17 U.S.C. §102):

(a)Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:

(1)literary works;
(2)musical works, including any accompanying words;
(3)dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
(4)pantomimes and choreographic works;
(5)pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
(6)motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
(7)sound recordings; and
(8)architectural works.

(b)In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.

So, in order for your product to be subject to copyright, it would have to be a work of art – maybe analogous to a sculpture. But there’s another problem: things that are functional are usually excluded from copyright protection. Where form and function are easily distinguished, the form might be protected – but not the function. Where the two are not separable, the object will likely not be protected.

If, on the other hand, what you have in mind is more like the items enumerated in paragraph (b), it may be appropriate subject matter for patent protection - which is what you may want to seek. You might be able to obtain a utility patent on (for example) some new method for suspending lenses in front of the eyes. Or, you might be able to obtain a design patent on a particular "ornamentation" or style of frame (if it's novel, and nonobvious, among other requirements).

But in any case, be forewarned - prosecuting a patent (that's what the process for obtaining a patent is called) is usually a pretty expensive affair.

Unlike patents, copyrights are intrinsic to the work (that is, it springs into being when a work is created and "fixed in any tangible medium of expression"); even registration is no longer mandatory. However, registration is required to initiate an infringement suit, and if you do register, the law affords enhanced remedies in case of infrigement. So copyright, when afforded, is free (though obviously, enforcement may not be) and registration is cheap.

Like rbaker suggested, if you want to proceed at all, the first thing you should do is contact an attorney who specializes in the field. I think you'll find that most attorneys who specialize in patent, copyright, or trademark law either specialize in all three or have associates who cover the range.


Disclaimer: My comments are offered for educational purposes and are not intended to be taken as legal advice. I'm a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer.

[carlos83eye]

Handmade frames is an operation under construction for the next 1-2 years, It's a major skill to develop and even harder to master but then again, being able to create something in a world of selling sounds worth it.....

It may be that the financial costs of protecting something may not be worth it for big companies. But for a little guy like me (.....although im pretty tall) I want to make enough product so I can sell them by the moment without having somebody take the idea and put their name on it. Then later on I'll have to buy my own design from the "Big E" to sell it.

My brother recommended taking the frame design with pictures and emailing them to myself. Would this provide ANY proof of ownership at all?Thanks for all the help, as soon as I get this settled I will post pictures of final product for all to comment

[Jacqui]

Not only email, also do it by registered snail mail

[shanbaum]

Or not at all:

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

[rbaker]

Or not at all:

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

The internet is truly a wonderful thing. We can sit on our fat keesters, hit a few keys and look directly down the horses mouth. There is more information here than anyone will ever need. All you have to do is read it.

It sure beats discussing legal issues which may have life changing consequences with your bartender or your retarded nephew who flunked out of some junior college criminal justice program; or for that matter the laymen of OptiBoard (with the exception of shanbaum, a real live honest to goodness lawyer.)

[FVCCHRIS]

You got all that???

[carlos83eye]

It's easy for my feeble mind to forget how useful FAQ's are, especially when it's easier to ask the Optiboard Giants......but then again, I'd miss all you characters

No, no, no.....It's Optiboard for me.....

See you 2012