Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I have new age design for my t-shirts but i need to get it patent does anyone know how i can  come about doin that

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check out my new age neo design t-shirts available 2008

IANAL (I am not a lawyer) but I doubt that you could get a t shirt design
patented. However you could copyright it.

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--
John Ahrens, President
John Ahrens, LLC

 Yes go to the Patent and Trademark website and it will tell you what to do. You really need to get a Trademark and copy right  for that first. here is the website.  www.pto.gov. It might be a little overwhelming if you need help I can work you through.  I work in that field and work in Washington DC.

Good luck.

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Antigua

O an by the way please do not let anyone see the design from here on in.  keep it on the lock-down. "sorry I can walk you through".

"Clink-Clink"

 

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Antigua

Sorry to say that the advice you have received is not quite correct.  You can probably copyright the new design you have created.  This is quite simple and cheap to do.  Do a search for US copyright office.  All the instructions are there and you can download the forms.  If you feel intimidated I can do it for you.  Our prices are quite cheap.

If you are going to be selling your t-shirts under a brand name you need to register this as a trademark.  You can do this yourself on line at uspto.gov BUT the process is actually MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THAN IT LOOKS.  You should do a preliminary search and you must determine whether you actually quailfy for a US trademark or can only file in the State in which you do business.  There are lots of other considerations, decisions to make when creating the application.  And you may get an office action or opposed.  You would be MUCH better off hiring an expert, like myself, to conduct the procedure for you.  Our prices are quite reasonable.

Please contact me if you would like my help.  You can e-mail me through SUN or my web site.

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Norton R. Townsley
Patent Attorney/Professional Engineer
The above message is provided for general information purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.

Mr. Townsley`s advice is correct but even at his reasonable prices it may
be beyond your budget as a start up.

If you haven`t been in the t-shirt market before, it is really, really
competitive and very full.

If you can make the shirts yourself I would start off with art fairs and such
to generate revenue.

I have designed shirts for people in the past that did OK but I`m no
expert.

What I do know is, and I`m not trying to go around the copyright advice,
you will definately need it, if you have a unique mark, logo and or distinct
art and you establish a website domain name and other traceable, datable
forms of documentation it will help if a dispute comes up before you can
copyright.

However, copyright infringement in the t-shirt industry is one of the most
difficult to track and enforce and could drive you crazy and bankrupt
trying to protect yourself.

Einstein said that good ideas were meant to be shared with everyone and
someone else said that imitation is a great compliment and I say
sometimes it`s a sign of laziness, they`re too lazy to be creative which
also means that they won`t pay attention to quality.

If your product has a high level of quality, most will not attempt to steal
directly, maybe just do variations of your work.

cafepress.com is a great and inexpensive way to get a few designs made
up just one at a time, you can upload a design and they will send you one
shirt or mug with your design on it or you can set up an e-shop there and
start taking orders off their site, when you go there you will see how
many people have lines that you buy from there.

I`ve also heard about a woman who made her own shirts and sold them at
some garage sales in her neighborhood in San Francisco when a buyer for
Macy`s stopped to look at the other stuff, long story short, the buyer
loved the shirts and within six months the woman had to scramble to
build a company to support the orders she got from Macy`s and was
selling literally thousands of shirts, so anything is possible if your work is
trendy and desirable.

the very best of luck to you, I look forward to seeing your designs,

+

It`s been awhile since my Copyright Law class and correct me if I am wrong, but if I remember correctly, one does not have to register to have a copyright.  Granted, registering your copyright would be the best way to protect your work, but my professor always said "Copyright Happens".  The minute you create something original in tangible form (at the time for me it was music) that piece of work is copyrighted by you (original being the key word).  The government forms are simply an official registration (for possible legal purposes) of that copyright that was created at the same moment the work was created.

Now, in the case of two people and the same work, the registration with the copyright office simply helps to serve as a legal recording of the work by date and author. (If I remember correctly, you would have to register your copyright before taking someone to court over it anyway.)  It is a good practice to register copyrighted works, but remember "Copyright Happens".

BTW: We used to mail notarized written copies of songs (on paper) and/or a recorded audio tape (before CD burners were affordable) to ourselves via registered mail.  We would file that away without breaking the seal as a record.  Between the notary and the USPS dated mark on the envelope and the fact that it was sealed, we figured, until us broke musicians could afford to pay for registering copyrights, that was due diligence enough to give us a fighting chance in court. ( It`s really not that expensive to register your copyright, but in college, I was just that broke.  )

Not to take money from our lawyer friends out there, but maybe you could print out the design, sign it and have it notarized and file it away until you can register your copyright.  That at least officially establishes a date and author for the design.

Best of luck!

http://www.uspto.gov/

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Jamye Few www.zeodd.com "If at first you don`t succeed, skydiving is not an option for you."

getting a copyright on clothing can be tough because so many aspects of clothing are considered `functional.`  A design patent may be the way to go.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com