QUESTION

How can I make t-shirts with baby skeletons in it and make sure I am not violating any copyright?

Asked on Oct 09th, 2013 on Patents - Utah
More details to this question:
I am wanting to make a t shirt with a baby skeleton at the tummy area. I see these on the internet. My question is, if someone has a copy right of the skeleton that looks different than the one I designed, but same concept since it's a skeleton, is that a violation? Does this person own all baby skeletons at the tummy area? I'm confused. How different design does my design need to be to be fair? Thanks.
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4 ANSWERS

Licensing Attorney serving Portland, OR at Mark S. Hubert PC
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Copyright only protects the actual expression of the idea not the idea. For example photographs of say the Empire State Building are on postcards and are copyrighted to the photographer that took that photo. You cant sell postcards with the exact photo made from the same negative but you can take your own photo of the ESB and sell it as it will be copyrighted as your own expression.
Answered on Oct 14th, 2013 at 1:15 PM

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Appellate Litigation Attorney serving Boston, MA at Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.
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Be creative and design your own version of the skeleton - do not copy someone else. That is the secret to copyright - your concept is your property. Another person's concept is their property. The first person to have a skeleton drawing on a t-shirt does owns nothing more than "that version" of a skeleton.
Answered on Oct 10th, 2013 at 7:44 AM

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Acquisitions Attorney serving Lincoln, NE at Jayne L. Sebby
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One can copyright an expression but not the underlying idea. So someone can copyright a stylized skeleton on the bottom half of a t-shirt but not the overall idea of a fetus' skeleton placed over the part of a t-shirt that would cover a woman's stomach. Your skeleton must be different enough that it does not duplicate another's skeleton.
Answered on Oct 09th, 2013 at 10:50 PM

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Intellectual Property Attorney serving South Jordan, UT at Pearson Butler
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A good way to avoid copyright violation is to make sure that whoever is designing/drawing a design is not looking at or copying from a design/drawing by someone else. Create from your own mind.
Answered on Oct 09th, 2013 at 6:24 PM

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