Practical guidance on protecting your designs- from an artistic perspective
Many designers express concerns that their designs will at some point be copied, here are some practical steps to ensure that you can claim protection:-
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Retain all drawings and sketches.
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If you have worked on any developments, prototypes make sure you keep these as well as all sources of inspiration.
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If you believe your work has genuine artistic appeal – keep a note on any design brief.
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Date all drawings, get them witnessed and mark them with the international copyright symbol.
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Consider sending them to a Solicitor to retain.
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Keep all press notices, correspondence and comments from a customer.
What is an Artistic Work?
For a design to be capable of being an artistic work, the work must be original and comprise of one of the following:-
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A graphic work
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a work of architecture, being a building or a model for a building or
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a work of artistic craftsmanship.
Copyright in an artistic work is dependent on originality. You must have produced it independently by the expenditure of a substantial amount of skill and labour – in short – anything goes providing it is not insubstantial.
