To protect jewelry designs from copyright, one must determine if it is original, and register it with the US copyright office. Filing involves downloading forms, submitting images, and paying a fee. Benefits include legal protection and prevention of copied pieces from other countries.
Under United States law, any original article made in a fixed form is automatically subject to copyright protection. To protect jewelry from copyright, a person must first determine whether or not the item she has made is original. So if the creator wishes to make the copyright public, he can register that piece with the United States copyright office.
Jewelry designs and ideas have been around for a long time and while the physical form of an original piece of jewelry may be copyrighted, the idea and the system for making it are not. This can sometimes make it difficult to determine if a necklace, bracelet or pair of earrings is actually an original design. To check whether or not a newly developed piece is completely unique, a person can search the Internet and/or a copyright office database to examine previously copyrighted pieces.
Filing documents for copyrighted jewelry typically involves visiting the copyright office website. On the site, a person can download the necessary forms, which can be printed, filled out and mailed. Another option for the designer is to fill out forms online and submit them electronically. You can follow tutorials on the internet on how to do this.
Photographs of the jewelery items may be taken, so they can be submitted with the forms. These images should typically showcase the detailed design of the jewelry and not focus solely on the artistic qualities. Different angles should be captured, so the whole piece is shown.
After the forms have been filled out correctly and the images have been taken, a designer can submit the required forms to copyright jewelry. A filing fee will most likely be required and will need to be submitted along with this documentation. Many times, the cost of filing electronically is less than filing via traditional mail. The copyright office will consider your request, determine if the jewelry is an original piece, and send you a copyright certificate. This process can take up to eight months.
Filing copyrighted jewelry isn’t always necessary, but it does come with benefits. Having the documents on file makes it easy for a designer to file a lawsuit against anyone who copies her work. Also, with the copyright on file, the US Customs Service can prevent copied pieces from arriving from other countries. Also, the record is public, so the design will remain in copyright for up to 70 years after the designer’s death, unless the copyright is renewed, in which case it may be protected for even longer.
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