QUESTION
I own an American Icon. I have the only one in the world. Do I have any ownership rights to the intellectual property associated with the item.
Asked on Jun 18th, 2020 on Intellectual Property - California
More details to this question:
I have researched this very old, unique stuffed bear for thirteen years. To discover my old bear to be an original Teddy Roosevelt bear cir. 1903. Hand made by Morris and Rose Michtom of Brooklyn, N. Y the Michtom's created this first style teddy bear in honer of President Theodore Roosevelt. the Michton's created so few of these original style teddy Bear that they were lost in time. . History says the Michtom's never obtained patents or copyrights to their original teddy bears . In 2014 I submitted a photo of the bear to this online photo contest. The Smithsonian Photo contest under the tittle American Experience. And they posted my bears photo under another site. Icon Smithsonian of theirs. And my bears photo has been featured on this site for over five years now, Please Google up, Icon Smithsonian Photo Contest, once there click on MOST VIEWED, see my old bear. Or Even Google up Teddy Roosevelt bear circa 1903. click on images See my old bear. He comes up first every ti
1 ANSWER
Patent Applications Filling and Prosecution Attorney serving Bellevue, WA
Partner at
Claiborne Patent Law Services
4 Awards
You took the photograph, and normally this automatically creates a copyright that your own in the photograph. This right allows you to exclude unlicensed parties from copying, creating derivative works or publicly displaying your photograph.
However, photo contests in which contestants provide photos are usually conducted with the expectation that the contest holders will publish some of the photos that are provided. With this in mind, the parties that conduct such contests usually have some sort of agreement that entrants sign that gives the parties running the contest the right to reproduce photos that have been submitted.
Do you have copies of your original entry materials from 2014? If you did not grant the Smithsonian the right to reproduce your photo, this matter may merit further efforts on your part and retaining an intellectual property law attorney for private consultation.
Regards,
Anthony Claiborne
425-533-6132
Answered on Jun 22nd, 2020 at 10:42 AM