Intellectual Property and Copywriting

''The golden rule of thumb... is that there isn't one.''


2 November 2015

This morning I went to Roland Mallinson's (Partner, Taylor Wessing LLP) lecture about intellectual property (IP) and copywriting. It was indeed very useful and important to hear about it from a specialist in his field who deals with this sort of cases on regular bases. I thing it's highly necessary knowledge in the creative industry, whenever you work for a company, building own business and perhaps employing people or working freelance. It is also relevant while studying and doing a degree show as there are sadly some people coming to visit those just to pinch students ideas for own good.
Some details seemed to be a bit rushed and confused me, but it became more clear during our seminar discussion.
Besides I will definitely keep Roland's email in my records. I will be surely joining some of the copyright communities online. It is definitely rather good to think how IP can be protected in the twenty-first century world when everyone can easily watch and be watched.

Our understanding of the law, visual and written signs, made to inform copywriting, are incredibly important to protect own and avoiding to infringe someone else's IP. There are legal rights protecting the expression of ideas giving a limited monopoly right for revealed/shared ideas. Forms of intellectual property are: trade marks (identifying brands), patents (for functional inventions), copyright and design rights (registered or not). Designer/creator is the owner of IP unless any contract transfers it to someone else. However as employee designer or in own company, the intellectual property belongs to the employer.

If IP rights are infringed, the legal advice or investigation usually takes place (option for UK IP Office opinion, £200) and the letter before action (Cease and Desist letter) is sent. If the litigation is still not settled, there can be injunction from the court and paying cost of damages and legal costs to the winner (usually a lot of money). There are also further risks and consequences like: embarrassment and loosing reputation/integrity; besides: fines or even imprisonment when refusing court's orders. There is also possible to get immediate injunction without any warning.

What should I be doing about IP?

That was a question in my head right after I left the lecture theatre... Well I learnt a lot about it today. As there is no rule to identify intellectual property, it's important to draw inspiration but not copying. It is the best idea to have a referee on the side who can confirm who's done the work and keeping reliable records and backups (such as: sketchbook, research file, email to yourself, photograph with a newspaper showing the date, publishing low quality copies on social media). When making a parody of something or publishing designs/artwork, extra care should be undertaken; licence with written terms. Sometimes the best and cheapest option is to register more valuable or promising commercially designs for couple of hundred pounds; however being selective to avoid unnecessary cost and making sure that final design is definitive.
I don't really have any designs like this, but it's good to know for the future, in case..  If I made something I am truly proud of, I would like to protect it and be certain nobody else will make a fortune out of it instead of me.

Globalisation and ubiquity of Internet (digital copying) gave us great opportunities to research prior art and design and to download with very high speed. It is easy to infringe and to be caught (and it is a crime to copy and use it for own benefit).

There are tests for infringement of IP right for each part: the same overall impression on a notional ''informed user'' and copying for unregistered right (designs), ''substantial copy'' of the original - not just a certain percent (copyright), confusingly similar, identical or free-ridding off, diluting or tarnishing a mark reputation (trade marks), effectively equivalent or exactly the same (patents).
And again, that's just some criteria, the law with possible different interpretations of court or general public (interviews, surveys).

To follow the topic I will definitely consider joining either ACID (www.acid.uk.com) or Design and Artistic Copyright Society (www.dacs.co.uk). I think it could be a fantastic guarantor to prove originality of my work. Like I have read and heard a lot of the time, nothing is really original anymore, but I think separate perceptions, trying different routes and contexts still identify new and previous work. There won't be two exactly identical artworks unless they're copied.

After today I know that in the future, before I show my portfolio to the company, I should present non-disclosure agreement and get it signed and that it can be downloaded on Google. It's a good aspect to gain respect and self-confidence and make the creative environment ad employers aware that we 're aware of own rights.

 

 

I was already thinking of creating my own logo or digital watermark that I could start using ones I graduate (or at least proper recognizable sign). I am more aware of social media terms (for example Facebook account I have). As an obvious response to this lecture I made notes here to remember all those things and I am sure I will notice them much more. I will definitely start putting copyright symbol with my name and date on my best work and then possibly on each one of them in the future.
I found out today that apart of images/objects created even my notes from today have copyright which expires in a year.
Thinking/an idea in your head isn't an intellectual property yet. I becomes that when it's drawn or written (expression of thought becomes my copyright). I have had that experience when ideas would start sparking in my head just after going to bed and usually I pick up my mobile phone and write it down. I don't do it then I usually forget it in the morning. These things need to be written straight away or I just forget them which is very frustrating. I really like the new iPhone option of drawing notes that can be easily made anywhere.

I got great tips what I could do in the situation when I see my work as someone else's, for instance on the shop display. So firstly I should get evidence by taking a photograph and/or a witness and possibly online journal entry/social media. Sometimes it's enough to contact particular person/company and very simply avoid court because it's the reputation that matters to every creator! Other option can be (depending on scale of that) talking to the manager in the store or sending an email or get advice from Citizens Bureau.
Some examples shown by Roland Mallinson of ripping off IP were quite ridiculous, such as Lloyds bank and their copyright green or battle between Apple and Samsung over the shape of the smart phone production (where apparently Samsung iPad is fat&ugly and Apple one is slim&elegant).
There was also a technical tip during our seminar about production, while creating a logo/brand: visiting a websites like www.uk.register (to check if something like this already exists) and then www.own-it.org as all brands have TM registrations. It's good to lodge artwork/design with third party institutions, such as banks (good backup proof).

I found out that university can use my work unless it's for permanent display and then with student's consent can be used or bought. In return we get feedback from tutors and group critique, we're learning. It's similar with live projects which are an additional part of the course, but I think it's really good and more exciting.


Is the IP and copyright law beneficial for big businesses/creative industries?

I think there is a big negative impact of this law because a lot of the time it serves interests of big companies or corporations. It also limits creative individuals who cannot use certain thing, for instance LLoyds bank took monopoly at using their particular green. Big business often steal ideas from unexperienced students or unaware creative people. IP law prevents following global trends and parodies. It forces industry to imitate, borrow or reinvent to be vibrant and prevents using old ideas in new media, colours or configurations.
In some cases IP only prevents ''outright deception and counterfeits, slavish imitation of limited creativity. It prevents copying, not being inspired - one of positive aspects. Copyright prevent sharing ideas confidentially without being ripped off (but it doesn't prevent verbal exchange that cannot be proved that easily so I guess the first person to use it is a winner, such as someone overheard the idea and made really quick use of it). Talking about academic creations... it could happen that two people had very similar perceptions/ideas without communicating with each other and then whoever shows it first to the group, wins in some way, as the concept seems to be repeated or copied.
But IP definitely enables creators to invest their project commercially, build a business and ''expand internationally or source production'' with less risk. Additional positive aspect of the IP law is that we can license our IP and make terms and conditions.
It seems to me a bit controversial that when I will be employed all my intellectual property delivered belongs to the employer. I think there could be a rip-off situation in this case especially with big influential companies.

Copyright Law Poster
Designed by: Josh Forbesbrown, Andre Herr Ring
 

The photograph above shows one of the posters from the upcoming set of collection for this year lectures. This one designed by my classmates, who used in very clever way a symbol for copyright, which is loosing its quality, possible value over the process of copying. It also shows that things and concepts fade over the time and become boring. We get used to the visuals in our environment to the point when they can even become trashy, kitschy...
It reminds me of last Minories Gallery exhibition I've seen. It has shown artwork, which was commissioned on the commercial market, cheaply in the supermarket around the corner. A lot of them examples (such as Van Gogh's ''Sunflowers'') used to be a remarkable, unique art pieces of their time, bought for million pounds... while in contemporary word they became a bit worthless. Of course it is completely different quality than the originals, but anyone can see it and reprint it. However the experience of looking closely into original painting in the National Gallery is rather amazing and no copy will pass through the feeling of the original.

Coincidentally on the same day I have found a post on Facebook on Qrkoko.pl personal blog by Agata Garbowska, craftwork practitioner, who easily and friendly explains, how to behave in the situation when we found out our copyright was infringed. It's important to know to make sure someone hasn't come out with the same or very similar idea before. We should always compare the publication date first and to check on the websites if nobody made the same thing before us (Google graphics research or https://www.tineye.com). If someone took an advantage of our work, the best option is to try to contact this person/company with a backup evidence and politely ask them to stop or possibly pay for using it. There are also possibilities that people are not aware of what they're doing.

I have also cursorily read the Polish law in this area, but I didn't spot a difference to the British one (more at: http://www.prawoautorskie.pl/roz-1-przedmiot-prawa-autorskiego). It can be different internationally. Copyright and IP infringement can be reported on any social media, blogs or on Google (Copyright Report Form or Digital Millennium Copyright Act - DMCA).








15 November 2015

Today while doing research for my main module, I have found this IP lawyer agency in London called BRIFFA and a very good glossary of terms about intellectual property on their website attached below (http://www.briffa.com/ Accessed on 15 Nov 2015). Just to remember it better and to have everything in one place.

Intellectual Property (IP) rights are the legal rights to creations of the mind. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols and designs. Common types of intellectual property rights include patents, copyright, design right, trade mark, trade dress and trade secret.

 

Brand - A brand is a word used to describe all the elements of intellectual property rights that a businesses uses to identify and distinguish its goods and services from those of competitors. It includes trade mark and trade dress but is not limited to those elements and can include  for example design and copyright material that conveys the brand message.

 

Database Right - This is a right similar to copyright which is granted to those who invest in the creation of databases. It works in a similar way to copyright but has a useful additional feature in that a person can infringe your database right by taking a small amount of data on a regular basis which gets round the need to show that the taking has been whole of substantial.

 

Copyright - A movie, a song, computer software, a book, a painting, a graffiti - at the heart of the intellectual property protection for all these things is copyright, which protects many types of creative work. Copyright gives those who invest the skill and effort to create original work the right to prevent others from copying them. Copyright does not cover ideas and information themselves, only the form or manner in which they are expressed. Copyright arises automatically on creation and does not need to be registered in the UK or Europe. It does what it says on the tin. It confers a right on the owner to prevent others copying their work.  It does not stifle independent creation of works. A person infringes your copyright if they copy your work wholly or substantially.

 

Database Right - This is a right similar to copyright which is granted to those who invest in the creation of databases. It works in a similar way to copyright but has a useful additional feature in that a person can infringe your database right by taking a small amount of data on a regular basis which gets round the need to show that the taking has been whole of substantial.

 

Design Right - A "design" can be anything from handicraft items and one-off artistic works such as a sculpture to a pattern (e.g. a tartan), a fashion garment or a product such as a chair. A design right acts as a deterrent to others who may infringe your design by copying all or part of it. Also it gives you the right to sue those who do go ahead and copy you without first obtaining permission.

 

Invention - An invention is a way of doing something that improves on what is currently available. Many but by no means all inventions are patentable and can be protected as such. In order to be patentable an invention must not be already known, must demonstrate an inventive step and must be capable of industrial application. Certain inventions are excluded from patent protection such as scientific discoveries, games and methods of doing business. It is possible to patent computer programs in some cases where they have the effect of solving a technical problem.

 

Patent - Windsurfers, corkscrews, lighting systems and medicinal drugs can all benefit from patent protection. A patent is a monopoly right granted by the government to the inventor, who has used his skill to invent something new. In order to encourage the sharing of knowledge the patent system asks inventors to share with the patent office how their invention works. In exchange for a limited period, the inventor can stop others from making, using or selling the invention where his permission has not been obtained. A patent if therefore in effect a deal with the government. After the period of protection has expired anyone is free to use the technology described in a patent.

 

Trade Mark - A trade mark is a recognisable sign, design or expression which distinguishes products and/or services of a trader from similar products or services of other traders. While most businesses register words or logos the trade mark system is not limited to these devices and there are a range of things that a business can secure rights in including jingles, smells and shapes.  A well known registered jingle is one registered by Deutsche Telecom. A Dutch company successfully registered a mark for the smell of fresh cut grass for its tennis balls. Unlike other rights trade marks can last indefinitely and can become better and stronger rights with use over time.

 

Trade Dress - is the overall commercial image (look and feel) of a product or service that indicates or identifies the source of the product or service and distinguishes it from those of others.

 

Trade Secret - is any confidential business information which gives a company a competitive edge may be considered a trade secret. Trade secrets encompass manufacturing or industrial secrets and commercial secrets. The unauthorised use of such information by persons other than the holder is regarded as an unfair practice and a violation of the trade secret. Trade secrets can be protected so long as they are imparted in a scenario where the person receiving the information understands that the information being received is confidential. Most commonly this is achieved by the parties entering into a non-disclosure agreement to confidentiality agreement before they discuss ideas together.