So I've been getting quite a few questions about copyright trademark,
what kind of content you're allowed to use on your t-shirts.
So, I wanted to clear that up in this video.
Although, it can get pretty complex,
I'm gonna break it down on a very easy to understand way in this video,
and there's three areas we need to focus on. One is trademark,
the second is copyright, and the third is right of publicity and privacy,
and that applies to celebrities or famous people.
So, starting off with the easiest one here.
That is a trademark.
So, a trademark applies to a word or a symbol.
The best example of this is a company logo or emblem.
So, think of a BMW car.
You know that badge that you see on the front,
the BMW badge, that's their trademark,
and what that is, is when you see that badge,
you think of quality Engineering.
You think of all the things that come along with BMW,
and the whole point of them protecting that trademark
and that badge is because of that
association that they've built between that badge
and your thoughts of quality and good engineering,
and a good car, so it comes by no surprise that
they want to be careful where that badge is going.
They don't want to just allow anyone to use that badge on anything
that could be bad quality and ruin all of that time, money,
and effort that BMW has put into building that association
from that badge to your thoughts of quality and a good car.
So, needless to say, you can't use a trademarked word
or symbol without the permission of that company.
What about if you're not using that logo or that badge.
Well, believe it or not,
you can actually still infringe on trademark here.
If you put together a shirt that has a combination of elements
that makes you think of BMW, even if it doesn't have that badge.
This can be colors. This can be phrases.
This can be designs, locations.
If you put together a combination of those things in a shirt,
even without using that badge, and it instantly makes you think of BMW,
then the courts can still rule that, that is trademark infringement,
and you're not allowed to use that, BMW is still protected.
So, the best test here is when you're putting together a shirt,
to think of,
does this immediately make me think of a company,
and if it does, then it's likely trademark, and
I would not suggest using it.
So that covers Trademarks and they are words and symbols.
Now, let's move right into copyright.
So, copyright is much more general and covers anything that is original work.
This can be words, this can be symbols,
quotes, artwork, designs, images, anything,
anything that is original work,
and wasn't copied from someone else.
Since copyright is so general and spans across so many things,
it can get very gray.
But the bottom line is, always remember,
if it's original work, it's something that you created or
someone else created completely on your own from start to finish,
and you weren't copying anyone else,
and it's technically your original work,
and you're actually protected by copyright
without doing anything further.
This means that no one can copy exactly what you've made,
or something that's close enough,
where it looks like it is a copy of what you made and like I said,
this can go for logos, art, designs, images, lyrics, quotes, phrases.
I mean the list goes on and on, it covers anything that is original work.
So, what does this mean for you?
Well, number one, don't copy any one's designed close enough,
where it looks like it is a copy or replica of theirs.
That can be copyright infringement on their original work.
If you really like someone's design,
and you want to use it for inspiration, this is completely fine.
What I recommend you do is, if they have a logo
or a design, and a quote, as you mix that quote,
so it's something similar, but it's not the same,
and then you use a different image.
That's something similar, but not the same.
Teespring is completely okay with this,
and copyright law is fine with this as well,
because it's your original work.
Although, you use theirs as inspiration,
you changed it, and you made it something similar and your own.
Now, it's your own original work,
and you are protected by the copyright.
No one can copy that.
So, that's copyright in a nutshell,
and just remember that, that spreads so wide.
It cover so many things.
Just make sure that you are creating original work.
You're not copying someone else, and then know that peace of mind that
Once you create original work, you are actually protected by the copyright.
and then the last one no one really talks about, but it is very important.
This is 'right of publicity and privacy.'
Now, this applies mostly to famous people and celebrities,
and what it means is,
they control the commercial use of their name and their likeness.
So, this means that, by law you can't use someone's name, their face,
and their personal brand without their permission.
and this is completely understandable,
especially for famous people and celebrities.
They've built up this brand,
and they don't want people ruining that brand that they've built up,
or profiting off of something that they built up,
their personal brand, their face, their name,
and this extends to quotes as well.
So, sometimes people will quote a celebrity,
and then just put credit in the bottom of who said it.
well, this isn't actually allowed.
Think of the description, think of the storefront
that this could be sold in.
It could be something derogatory,
or something that they don't stand behind.
You can't be putting their name associated with that,
even if they said the quote.
If you have their permission, it's a completely different story.
But just know that, on Teespring, by default,
they will actually remove the listings, and they won't print them,
because they know what kind of issue this can become.
So, those are the three right there.
That's a trademark; your word, and symbol, the copyright, basically,
everything that's original content,
and the right of publicity and privacy,
and that goes for celebrities putting
their name and a face of a personal brand
on something without their permission.
So, I hope that helps answer the question for you guys.
If you have any questions, please let me know.