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> Almost every product made now has a copyright logo on it. That logo, alone, empowers manufacturers to sue people for copyright infringement for unlawful sales
by daeken 14y ago
> Almost every product made now has a copyright logo on it. That logo, alone, empowers manufacturers to sue people for copyright infringement for unlawful sales.
Logos are not copyrightable (well, you could copyright an image of one...) but fall under trademark law. I have a hard time trusting an article about this stuff that confuses copyright and trademark law; they're two completely unrelated, different beasts.
- dubfan 14y agoI believe the author is referring to the copyright symbol (the c with a circle around it). This article could have used more thorough proofreading and editing.
- jessriedel 14y agoIn which case the author is still wrong. The copyright logo has not been necessary to enjoy copyright protections since 1989: > The notice was once required in order to receive copyright protection in the United States, but in countries respecting the Berne convention this is no longer the case. The United States joined the Berne Convention in 1989 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_symbol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_symbol
- btilly 14y agoIt is not necessary, but it is still done. Why? Because it takes away the defense, "But I didn't know that it was copyrighted!" It also makes the copyright holder easier to track down for people who want permission.
- Natsu 14y agoNope. They're almost certainly talking about the company logo. See Omega S.A. v. Costco Wholesale Corp. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_S.A._v._Costco_Wholesale_Corp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_S.A._v._Costco_Wholesale....
- rprasad 14y agoLogos are copyrightable. They are also trademarkeable. They are not, however, patentable, except to the extent that they are three dimensional, in which case they may be eligible for patent design protection. I have a hard time trusting a commenter who confuses copyright and trademark law. They are two related legal concepts that provide different types of protection for intellectual property.
- TheAmazingIdiot 14y agoMy understanding was that a logo could fall in for a design patent if the logo was part of the design of the items said company sold. For example: iPhone 3GS. Pretty mirror apple logo is Apple trademark. It is a picture, so copyrightable. And it is part of the design and 'look and feel' of an iPhone, so patentable as well. But I'm no lawyer..