JRN 302: Introduction to Graphics
and Visual Communication
- Public Domain, Copyrights, Trademarks,
Plagiarism
Wednesday, 10-6-15
Class Objectives
 Lecture
 Public Domain, Copyrights, Trademarks,
Plagiarism
 Review on SM Graphics what is and what is NOT
allowed
 Homework assignments
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Reading Assignments:
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http://blog.webcopyplus.com/2011/02/14/legal-lesson-learnedcopywriter-pays-4000-for-10-photo/
http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/image-copyrightinfringement?utm_content=buffer24942&utm_medium=social&
utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Warmerdam, 2014
What is public domain?
 A range of materials (called “intellectual property”)
that are available for anyone to use for any purpose

Includes music, literature, art, blogs, websites

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Books such as the Bible, but translations may be copyrighted
Images
 Raster http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/
 Vector http://www.openclipart.org/

Very few sound recordings are in PD
 Varies by country

Something that is PD in one country may not be in another
country
 Do not need to pay royalties $$ for using PD work (no
licenses on)
What is a copyright
 Protection of your intellectual property (specifically,
design works fixed in any tangible medium of
expression)

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Your copyright protects your particular form of
expression that resulted in a book, poem, music,
sculpture, movie, letter, email or other printed material,
sound, or visual art from being copied w/o your
consent
Even HTML/web page designs are copyrighted!

If you copy HTML and replace images with your own,
probably violated a copyright law
Copyrightable content as it pertains
to JRN/ADV/PR?
 Yes, these can be copyrighted
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Photographs
Brochures
Newsletters
 No, these are not protected by copyright
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Sounds
Names, titles, short phrases (slogans)
Colors
Ideas
Inventions
Public Domain vs. Copyright
 Copyright occurs at time of creation and runs
through a limited period of time (normally
creator’s life + 70 years)
 When copyright expires, the work enters the
public domain.

Again, PD means you can make copies of the
work and don’t have to pay $$ for it.
Copyright Laws
 What are a copyright laws?
 Grants the author six exclusive rights
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the right to reproduce the work
the right to create derivative works based upon the
original work
the right to distribute copies of the original work (sale,
rental, license, assignment, or otherwise)
the right to publicly perform the work
the right to display the work
the right to prevent distortion, modification, or
mutilation of the work
Source: http://www.copyright.gov/
Copyrights
 What do the 6 rights actually mean?

Author has the right to stop other parties from
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Making copies of the work
Making changes to the work or creating new works
based on the original work (derivatives, see next
slide)
Distributing the work
Publishing the work
Licensing the work to others
Otherwise exploiting the work
Source: http://janim.net/articles/copyright.php
Popular Lawsuit involving derivatives
 The Obama Hope Poster (A.P. v Shepard Fairey)

Legal under fair use as 2008 campaign poster

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Had the approval of the official Obama campaign
After Obama became the President, in 2009,
the Fairey portrait used in the poster was
acquired by the Smithsonian

At this time, it was learned that portrait was based
on 2006 A.P. photograph
 A.P. sued Fairey
 2010, A judge urged a
settlement, stating that AP
would win the case
U.S. Copyrights
 How long do they last?
 Works before 1923 are in the public domain
 Works from 1923-1978 =life of creator + 70 years
 Works from 1978- present copyrighted by individuals =life
of creator + 70 years

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Works from 1978- present by or for corporations = 95 years
from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is
shorter.
Simply stated.. They are not indefinite! They expire!
Copyrights- limitations
 Rights are subject to certain limitations
 One of these limitations is the "fair use"
exception.

Permits use of a work, even without the
consent of the author or copyright owner, for
certain limited purposes

Purposes include uses for criticism/parodies,
comment, teaching, news reporting, scholarship
or research
Is this breaking the law?
 You create a Parody Twitter Account of a
local attorney and find a photograph on his
website to use and post on your Twitter
parody profile.
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What happens?
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Attorney website:
http://centralmichiganlawyer.com/about/attorney-profile/
Twitter Parody Account: https://twitter.com/levittlawyer
To date: http://www.cm-life.com/article/2015/08/levittappeal
Copyrights-considerations
 Deep pockets- show me the money
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How much money is being made off of your
copyrighted property?
Can you afford to hire a lawyer?
 Non-profit vs for profit
 International arena has much looser
standards on copyrights than U.S.
To register or not to register
 Do you need to register your work with the
U.S. Copyright Office in order for it to be
protected under copyright laws?

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No! Work is protected by copyright law as soon as it is
fixed in a tangible medium.
An unregistered copyright entitles you to reproduce,
sell, and perform the copyrighted work.

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You can send cease and desist letters, DMCA take-down
notices…
But what if someone using your copyrighted work won’t
stop using it after you tell them to stop?
'In England, if you commit a crime, the police don't have a gun and you don't have a gun.
If you commit a crime, the police will say, "Stop, or I'll say stop again"'
Robin Williams
Registering your work
 Why do you register your copyrighted work?
 To be able to sue (and ask for attorneys fees)
 To collect statutory damages: The charges allow
copyright holders, who succeed with claims of
infringement, to receive an amount of compensation
per work
 A brochure with 4 photos = 5 pieces of work
 How much does it cost to register your work?
 $35 to file claim, if approved another $45
 Copyright symbol is ©
 Not required but good to have
 In PS, this symbol is under the custom shape tool
As it pertains to JRN/ADV/PR?
 Protected by Copyright laws
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Photographs
Brochures
Newsletters
 Protected by Trademark laws
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Sounds
Names, titles, short phrases (slogans)
Colors
 Protected by Patent laws
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Ideas
Inventions
What is a trademark
 Names, logos, colors, words, sounds, and
other identifying marks used in commerce
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Examples: Coca-cola logo, MGM lion’s roar,
McDonald’s TM’s
 Are used to prevent others from using a
confusingly similar mark
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You are protecting the mark that is being used
within your trade
What is a trademark
 Trademarks do not to prevent others from
making the same goods or from selling the
same goods or services under a clearly
different mark.

Your company makes a kid’s toy
Trademarks are all about if the
customer is confused or not- if they
think the two companies are the
same!
http://news.moviefone.com/2010/09/11/f
amous-movie-locations-mcdowellsfrom-coming-to-america/
When is something trademarked?
 How do I know if something is trademarked
already?

http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess
&state=4801:2ygo6v.1.1
 Trademarks begin when the mark is used in
the normal course of doing business
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So your class logo is not trademarked until
you have it attached to a product or service
and you are doing business with that product
or service.
What is a trademark
 Can be maintained indefinitely as long as
they are being used in business
 Trademark symbols
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™ = unregistered
® = registered
Same question… to register or not
register
 So why should I register a trademark?
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You can sue
Your trademark area of protection is
nationwide
 Basic cost for filing a trademark is $325
 Do I have to file or register my trademark?
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No, but it helps to prove original ownership
 Do I have to put the TM or ® on my work
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No, but it helps tell others you know your
rights
Same question… to register or not
register
 Do I need to register with the U.S. Patent and
Trademark office in order to have trademark
protection?
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No. You still have protection under trademark
laws but only in the geographic area in which
the mark is used.
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If coffee shop sold coffee called CRAZED in
California only, the trademark rights to that name
exist only in California.
If another coffee retailer begins to market a
different blend in New York under the same name
(assuming they had no knowledge of the
California company), then there would be no
A new spin on trademark
infringement (.sucks)
 Websites with .sucks are coming soon
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Owned by Vox Populi https://www.registry.sucks/
 Idea is for consumer complaints
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Cost up to $2500 per year to buy these names (versus
mine, sarakubikphd.com, costs me $10/mnth)
 Calling this something similar to cybersquatting.. I
buy a URL so you have to pay me a higher price
 Krogers.sucks is available at
https://www.uniteddomains.com/
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Also a trademark problem…you own a trademark
and can prohibit others from using it
What is trademark clearing house
http://www.trademark-clearinghouse.com/
Trademark differences
 So trademarks can be indefinite as long as
they are used in business
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Whereas copyrights expire
 When a trademark is abandoned, it does
NOT enter the public domain
 And trademarks can become generic

Aspirin, thermos
 Fair use in TMs are different… see next slide
Trademark differences
 Fair use in TMs are different
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Can use a generic word (like apple)
Can use TMs in criticism (like a TV
commercial mentioning how your product has
less fat than a Big Mac- assuming that is true)
Parody is not black or white… the issue is
whether or not there is a likelihood of
confusion for the customer
Question
 Is everything you create as a designer
automatically copyrighted to you at the
moment of creation/expression?
•
•
Yes, and registering them helps protect them
from being used by others (gives you a stronger
case in court)
No, depending upon your job, the
company/school may actually own your work
(has to do with “Work for Hire”)
• You would not have created the work had
you not been hired by them
Question
• If I base a design of my own on someone
else's copyrighted design- is this legal?
•
Yes and no
• No- depending upon similarity (if you only
change font= no.. It’s a derivative, 80%
change = yes)
•
•
•
Did you create your own graphics or steal
others?
Do they have a copyright lawyer
Is the design popular in your trade?
Question
 If I can re-create a logo, it’s legally mine,
right?
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Absolutely not.
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Just because you can make three circles does
not mean you own the Mickey Mouse logo
 If I re-create a logo and add to it, it’s now
legally mine, right?
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Absolutely not.
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If consumer thinks that your design is really about
the first company, you have infringed on their
trademark.
Plagiarism
 = the act of using someone else's words or
ideas without acknowledging the source,
thereby representing it as your own.
 If you use someone else's ideas, phrases,
conclusions, facts, statistics, or artwork
without citing where they came from, in effect,
you pass them off as your own work and have
plagiarized.
Difference between plagiarism and
copyright/TM infringement
 Plagiarism is using other people's original
work without crediting them as the source.
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Can avoid by always citing the source of any
material you use that is not your own
 Copyright/TM infringement is using material
without getting permission.
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Can avoid by getting permission (meaning pay
them) from the copyright/TM holder to use
their materials.
Or fair use reasons.
Source: http://janim.net/articles/copyright.php
Believed to be legal but are illegal in
the U.S.
 Commercially using articles and images from other
web sites.
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Is illegal unless explicit permission is given or the item in
question is in the public domain.
 Scanning images from magazines and posting them
on your web site.
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This is illegal as you are making a copy (a scan) of a
copyrighted image.
 Getting permission from someone who has made a
non-legitimate copy of the material.
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The rule is simple: you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner only.