Do I need to copyright / protect my designs for my t-shirt company?
By Yahoo User • Category:I am starting a t-shirt company. I have designs available at a local store, but I am sending these designs as well as some unprinted ones to larger stores and web sites. Do I need to copyright the designs, make a non-disclosure agreement, or otherwise protect them from being stolen? If so, how would I go about doing so?
Yeah you should in case someone tries to copyright your products and services.
You can do this at the US Copyright Office – see the last 2 links in the source box. The application is fairly simple & the cost is $45 per application.Despite what others state, a “poor man’s” copyright is NOT the same as registering it. Here’s what the US Copyright Office has to say:”The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a ‘poor man’s copyright.’ There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration.”If you’re talking about the clothing line’s logo and/or name, you would apply for a trademark.Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry. Of course, it’s necessary to research the mark comprehensively prior to filing to ensure that there is no possibility of infringing upon another party. This entails searching the pending & registered Federal and State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files. Then, if clear, you can decide if you would like to file for a Federal or a State trademark. Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!