Copyright and Trademark Infringement
Intellectual property law can be confusing for those of us outside the legal profession. Mind’s Eye Graphics Inc. will not knowingly participate in any acts of copyright and/or trademark infringement.
A copyright is a work of authorship created by an individual entity and put in a fixed form. Copyrights may be extended to written copy such as a newspaper or magazine article or other printed & artistic media such as t-shirts. The copyright notice is a c in a circle “ ©” followed by the year the design was created and the owners name informs the world who is entitled to reproduction of this image. An example of proper use would be © 2000 Mind’s Eye Graphics, Inc.
A registered mark or trademark or a service mark is registered with the trademark office in Washington DC. The notice of trademark is a small ™ placed in the immediate proximity of the protected mark.
A registered trademark is indicated by ® and carries the same notice to the public that a ™ provides for a specific mark. The ® indicates that registration has been submitted and registered with the proper authorities, while ™ may be used during the application process.
While the above mentioned notification to the public is required the omission of said service marks in no way grants authority to any user other that the legal owner the right of reproduction.
The courts have repeatedly upheld that any marks that should be known by the general public to be covered by intellectual property laws are indeed subject to their protection. An example of this would be the use of Mickey Mouse, the general public is aware of the relationship to Disney and their organization. The intentional or unintentional omission of service mark information makes no difference in the eyes of the law. Minor changes to the artwork are also violations of these laws, again a Disney example; Mickey Mouse with 2 fingers is still Mickey Mouse.
Mind’s Eye Graphics Inc. requires signed authorization from the owner(s) of any service mark(s) that may be in question before production can be scheduled. The determination of which authorizations may be required is purely at the discretion of Mind’s Eye Graphics, Inc and it’s management.
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