Category: Design Law

Knockoffs are a designer’s worst nightmare. Imagine spending precious time perfecting a design that is uniquely yours only to find others creating exact replicas, and selling and making a profit from them as if your hard work did not matter. That is an issue many designers have faced and will continue to face as communication tools like social media blur the lines of authenticity and ownership of ideas and designs. However, what is a knockoff and how do you protect your designs against them?Continue Reading →

Poor Man’s Copyright is the idea that if a person has created or designed something, but can’t afford to register with a federal trademark office, they can mail themselves a copy of their intellectual property, which will be marked with a federal date stamp. People say this will prove that your piece of intellectual property was created and has been in your possession from this date, and possibly before. Many so-called experts on different websites claim that this is the most effective and cheapest way to hold copyright for your piece since it costs less than a few dollars/euros to mail it.Continue Reading →

When a designer creates a new industrial design, it is important for them to protect it from future knock-offs and cheap imitations. A design patent offers this protection; it provides the artist with exclusive rights of sale and its associated profits, along with an exclusive right to operate the industrial design. While intellectual property law varies in Italy, the basis of the rights of various jurisdictions is to protect the rights of the creator.Continue Reading →

When creating a new piece, a lot of effort goes into its design, which is why it is so important to ensure an designer/artist knows their rights when it comes to intellectual property. Having to go through the law’s complex and difficult jargon can be daunting to many, if not all, but two important intellectual property protections should be understood by designer/artists: design patents and copyright for aesthetic features of objects. However, while they may seem similar, in definition and in practice these two concepts differ, and it is this difference that is crucial for understanding an artist’s rights.Continue Reading →