P6

Legal Pitfalls

Copyright issues

Copyright refers to laws that regulate the use of the work of the creator of graphics. Copyright issues occur when the graphics are copied, distributed and altered. Unless the author of the work has stated that the graphics can be used, the author retains the copyright. For a copyright to apply to a graphic image, it must be an original idea that is put to use. The idea of the image cannot be copyrighted, but the physical use of the idea is covered under the copyright law. In order for someone to use a copyrighted image they must get the permission of the author so that they are not breaking the copyright law.

Trademark

A trademark is a symbol or logo that legally distinguishes one company’s product from any others. Any infringement on a trademark is illegal and a company can sue the infringing party if there is any illegal activity. If a company steals another company’s trademark then they can be punished under the trademark law. An example of a well-known trademark would be Nike’s swoosh or Coca-Cola’s wave.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property is the ownership of intangible and non-physical goods. This includes ideas, designs, symbols and artwork. There are 4 different types of intellectual property; they are patents, trademarks, designs and copyright. Intellectual property is usually created to be sold on to different companies who would then use it as their own graphics.