What does copyright protect? Copyright is a type of free and automatic legal protection for people who express ideas and information in certain forms I.E. drawings and paintings, logos, fonts and photographs, web site graphic designs, buttons and background sets, also writing, music and moving images. Copyright protects the form or way an idea or information is expressed, not the idea or information itself. Layouts we create for your publications are also protected under copyright but to a limited extent, and we don't bother with asserting our rights over this. Ideas, styles and techniques are not protected.
How is it protected? A work by Great Graphical Adventures and her associates is protected automatically from the time it is first written down or recorded in some way, provided it has resulted from its creator’s skill and effort and is not simply copied from another work. As owners of copyright we have the right to reproduce, make public and communicate our work to the public, for instance on our web site.
How long does copyright last for? There is a time limit on copyright, depending on the material. Artistic works, including photographs or engravings, are generally protected for 70 years after the end of the year of the creator’s death. Copyright in a published edition lasts for 25 years from the end of the year the edition is first published.
How is copyright shown? No copy right notice is required for it to be protected in Australia but one may choose to put a copyright notice: © (or "Copyright") + copyright owner’s name + year of first publication —for example: © Gus O’Donnell 1968. Australian copyright works are protected in most other countries, and visa versa.
Can I Licence Copyright? Copyright owners can license their rights. This means giving a client permission to use the copyright item in specified ways. For example, the right to reproduce an illustration on company stationery, or to reproduce and communicate it on the company’s website. Licences may be exclusive, in which case no-one but the licensee is entitled to make the specified uses of the item or non-exclusive, the same right can be licenced to more than one person. Conditions such as payment may be imposed on the person acquiring the licence or rights.
Great Graphical Adventures will access each project with regards to Copyright Licencing and ascertain a fee, if necessary.
Paperwork for Copyright Licencing Agreements do not necessarily have to be in writing to be legally binding. In some cases, courts will even decide that a term is implied in a contract even though it has not been expressly discussed. For example, where a client commissions Great Graphical Adventures to create illustrations for use in advertising its products, the client will normally have an implied licence to use the illustrations for the purposes discussed.
However, it is best if all agreements and transactions relating to copyright are in writing, this is the only way to make it clear what has been agreed. Assignments and exclusive licences must be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the copyright owner to be fully effective. As of September 2006, Great Graphical Adventures will advise all of our clients of our copy right ownership on all forms.
Copyright Infringement
If
Great Graphical Adventures is using someone
else’s material, i.e. incorporating someone
else’s drawing or photograph into a graphic
design we will need permission. If the
illustration, photograph or copy was supplied by
a client who asked the designer to copy it for
her use, the client may be liable for
authorising the infringement. Scanning or
photocopying a substantial part of a copyright
work is an infringement.
There are defences, or exceptions, to
infringement which allow some uses of copyright
material without permission – for example by
reviewers and students. There are also special
provisions for copying by libraries, educational
institutions and government bodies. In some
cases, certain procedures must be followed, and
in some cases, fees must be paid.
Is copyright infringed if I material is changed? No, this is a myth! There is no rule in copyright law that permits reproduction of an image if a percentage of it is changed, or if a certain number of alterations are made. If you can put the two works side by side and identify important parts from the original that have been copied, it is likely that you need permission. This is one of the reasons why Great Graphical Adventures does illustration or takes it's own photographs.
Making changes to a logo does not overcome infringement Note that there is no rule in copyright law that permits reproduction of a logo if a percentage of it is changed, or if a certain number of alterations are made. If you can put the two logos side by side and identify important parts from the original that have been copied, it is likely that an important part of the original has been reproduced.
Trade marks A logo may be protected by copyright and also protected as a trade mark.
The Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) provides a formal system of registration for signs such as names, logos and other distinctive aspects of a product or packaging. Unlike copyright, protection under the Trade Marks Act depends on registration and payment of a fee.
Only marks inherently capable of distinguishing the traders’ goods or services can be registered. This is why Great Graphical Adventures client, Gourmet Ice Cream Products has been able to successfully Trade Mark her logos...they have all been illustrated with hand rendered typography.
Registration provides protection against other individuals or companies using the same or a deceptively similar mark in the course of trade. Trade marks are registered at IP Australia. IP Australia has its head office in Canberra and sub-offices in each State capital city. It can be contacted on: 1300 651 010 or via its website at http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au
If a trade mark has not been registered, a person using it may still have rights against others using it or a similar mark.
Is clipart copying an infringement? Great Graphical Adventures does not use clipart. Use of clipart depends on the licencing on the product purchased, and who owns the product.
Moral rights Creators of many types of copyright material,
including the creators of artistic works, have
moral rights in respect of their work, whether
or not they also own copyright. These rights
impose certain obligations on people who use
their work. Creators of artistic works have the
right to:
• be attributed as the creator of their work;
• take action if their work is falsely
attributed as being the work of someone else;
and
• take action if their work is distorted or
treated in a way that is prejudicial to their
reputation.
With this in mind, Great Graphical Adventures has displayed works on our web site that have been created whilst in employment at other studios. After seeking legal advice, we now display the work in an historical context and seek permission from the client to show the work although we do not own the copyright i.e. The Grape, Gourmet Ice Cream Products, Platypus Graphics, Culture Creation and The Young Group etc.
There are many works created whilst in employment that we are not able to show within this site. Please contact us if you would like to see some of these very impressive designs.
Who owns copyright in a website?
It is not clear that a website as a whole would
be protected by copyright. Component
parts, however may be protected, and copyright
in each of these component parts may be owned by
a different person. For example, one or
more people may own copyright in the graphics,
others may own copyright in the text, others
again in the compilation of material on the site
and yet another person or company may own
copyright in the navigation software.
Web Sites and Moral Rights The creators of copyright material that is included in a website, have moral rights in relation to their work. These rights are separate from copyright in the work. It is appropriate to attain permission to show the work and/or to give credit to that creator. Also, it is appropriate to obtain the creators permission prior to making any changes to their work, and also for its use in a particular context. Like in the Gourmet Ice Cream Products web site, Great Graphical Adventures bypasses this by creating our own graphic designs and illustrations and also by taking our own photographs or using and editing up the clients photographs.
How can we protect material we put on the internet? It is wise to have a statement about copyright on your site. There is no rule as to its' position. We can apply technological means of inhibiting unauthorised copying or lifting of material from your site, like a password, or we can encrypt information on the site.
What permissions do I need to put music onto my site? If you wish to include recorded music in your website, Great Graphical Adventures' associates will need to get permission from the owner/s of copyright in the music itself, in any lyrics (protected separately as “literary works”) and in the sound recording. We will need permission to reproduce the music in digital form and to make it available online (communicate it).
Copyright rules for a font or typeface? Designs for particular letters i.e. typography within logos, may be held as artistic works for the purposes of Copyright.
Copyright in many popular typefaces has, however, expired, where these were created and used by people who died more than fifty years ago. Nonetheless, many popular typeface designs are still in copyright. Copying these fonts, even recreating means we will need permission from the relevant copyright owner.
Great Graphical Adventures uses fonts downloaded free from the world wide web, creates her own fonts which are under certainly covered by copyright and uses fonts from purchased CDs. We do not at this point sell fonts to our clients however most studios and agencies do. Of note, it is becoming common practice with many printers that when the printing company will need its own licensed copy of the relevant font software. Our printers, Peninsular Colour do not as yet have these requirements.
Are company names, titles and slogans under Copyright? Names, titles, titles of songs and slogans are NOT generally covered under copyright law as they are not regarded as “original literary work” for copyright purposes. If Great Graphical Adventures creates a wonderful name, slogan or positional statement for you, you will own it.
Information on Company names Companies must be registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). When applying for registration, you may apply to reserve a name.
For further information, visit the ASIC website and see links under the heading “Services” http://www.asic.gov.au The fact that you have registered a company name does not, however, necessarily mean you can stop another person using the same or similar name.
Business name registration Laws in each State and Territory require you to register a business name if you carry on business using a name other than your own or that of a registered company. If you are trading in more than one State or Territory, you may need to register in each of them. However, the fact that you have registered a business name does not necessarily mean you would be able to prevent another person using the same or a similar name.
For further information, contact the office in
your State or Territory which registers business
names:
• in NSW, the Department of Fair Trading
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/business/businessnames.html
• in the ACT, Business ACT Gov.
• in Queensland, the Office of Fair Trading or
Smartlicence
http://www.sd.qld.gov.au
• in SA, the Office of Consumer and Business
Affairs
• in WA, the Department of Consumer and
Employment Protection
http://www.docep.wa.gov.au
• in Tasmania, the Department of Justice and
Industrial relations
• in the NT, the Department of Justice
http://www.nt.gov.au/justice
Domain names
You can register an internet domain name with
one of the accredited registers; they are listed
at
http://www.ausregistry.com.au and
http://www.auda.org.au
Note, however, that registration of a domain
name does not necessarily enable you to stop
another person using
the same or a similar name.