This past weekend I was on a panel called “Copyright Basics You Can Use” at the 2015 American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Design Conference. My co-panelists were two amazing designers, Stefan Bucher and Robynne Raye. Our talk was (as you might imagine) about copyright basics and the role that copyright plays in design.
Our goal was to introduce the audience to various copyright basics and help them to understand the importance of copyright registration to designers.
A Series of Confusing Copyright Cases
To start the session, we showed a set of slides featuring two works: one “original” work and then one that may or may not be infringing. By a show of hands, the audience was asked whether the second work infringes on the first. We covered cases like Cariou v. Prince, Kerr v. New Yorker, Rogers v. Koons, etc.
Images from the case Rogers v. Koons. Artist Jeff Koons made a sculpture based on a photograph by Art Rogers.
While people got most of them, there were some results that the audience found surprising. The underlying point is that there is a great deal of uncertainty and little consistency surrounding copyright cases.
Enter copyright registration. Of all of the copyright basics we hoped to cover, copyright registration was the main one.
The Importance of Copyright Registration
I have written about this topic before. Copyright registration is important. It’s truly one of the “copyright basics” that you can use. Stefan and Robynne both related their litigation experiences as plaintiffs and how copyright registration played a role in their lawsuits (I represented Stefan in his). Stefan emphasized the good point that while you probably won’t need your registration, it sucks to not have it when you do. Agree.
During the session we showed the audience how the Copyright Office’s online system works (or works clunkily). Sometimes seeing the thing that you have to deal serves a good first step.
.@StefanGBucher @BubblesRaye + @jontobinesq showing just how easy it is to copyright your work via eCO #AIGAdesign pic.twitter.com/tpWOpITkr8
— AIGA (@AIGAdesign) October 10, 2015
Copyright Registration of Graphic Design
One of the most complicated points to express during this session was the manner in which a designer can get copyright registration for his or her work. As a general principle, functional aspects of design cannot receive a copyright registration. That means most interface elements and arrangements won’t really be a candidate for copyright registration.
However, it’s important to note that many of the elements used in graphic design, along with particular arrangements of content can actually be registered. So that means that photographs, illustrations and certain compositions can pass muster and be registered as works of visual art. It just needs to be done with a little extra care and thought.
Final Thoughts on Copyright Basics
The panel was cool, and the conference was amazing. Very exciting to see so many great designers with an interest in copyright – it is a crucially important topic for anyone working creative industries. Ultimately, the copyright is the unit of economic value for a creative professional, and the designers who take the time to incorporate various copyright basics into their practice tend to be the designers who have built or are building a thriving creative business.
Hopefully, our panel helped the audience move in that direction.
Jonathan Tobin is a California attorney who helps creative businesses with legal issues and is the founder of Counsel for Creators.
