woot ! woot! awesome!

I am accepted to the Beta test and use it for all of our designs. Super easy - LOVE IT!.....and if you need assistance they have a phone number to the actual copyright people (not telemarketers) and they are super super helpful.

Thanks for all your great work EtsyAdmin!

This is WONDERFUL NEWS for those of us who think about copyright! thank you for the article!! Used to be mail in only.....bout time the Copyright Office caught up to the 21st century!!

Does this mean that if someone wraps a jewelry piece with a heart, music sign, circle, square, etc. that we (us) cannot use those symbols anymore? Or does it mean if someone copies something word for word, stitch for stitch, or bend for bend, then that is copyright-able? This seems pretty huge to me. I just got me a wire-bending apparatus and if I design something that "resembles" something someone else has done, does that mean I go to jail? Give me the rules here...and please send it to my e-mail at brendasue420@msn.com so that I will be sure and get the info. I won't be able to find it at Etsy...it's over my head. There are only so many different things you can do with a "jig" or wire winder...so tell me more please. I see many sweaters that are duplicates...so should we sue? I make doilies out of a pattern book...am I going to get sued? I have jewelry-making books, magazines, etc. so will I get sued if I used the patterns they freely give????? Brenda

Well its about Time, and Im on it!!

Im sure there is going to be alot of people having to use their own brains and their own creativity now for a change!
This is Wonderful News! And Makes My Millenium!
Now not only will I have my Store and Products Trademarked , but Copyrighted Too.

Thank You Sarah for the Wonderful News and All Your Hard Work as Usual!

Thanks for the FYI, Sarah. :)

It is still a $35 registration fee for each individual piece, which means it really isn't practical unless you are selling many multiples of a product, or the product is very high-priced.
For most Etsy users, I would think it would be too costly.

JMHO

For more information about U.S. Copyright Law, please check out www.copyright.gov. For specific questions please consult an attorney.

As for twopretty's inquiry, in MANY cases you can register a GROUP of works for ONE FEE! So it can be practical.

Sarah

According to the website: "No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time."

So, as soon as a piece is created and particularly when it hits the public domain...it is essentially copyrighted. And now with the web...proving when something has hit the public domain is very easy to prove. So, i really don't understand why registration is ever necessary.

"Does this mean that if someone wraps a jewelry piece with a heart, music sign, circle, square, etc. that we (us) cannot use those symbols anymore? Or does it mean if someone copies something word for word, stitch for stitch, or bend for bend, then that is copyright-able? This seems pretty huge to me."

I am NOT an attorney or an expert on copyright law. It's all very complex too. Seek an attorney's opinion if you are concerned.

But I did do a LOT of research about this once upon a time. My understanding is that you cannot copyright use of a common symbol. So a piece of jewelry that uses a heart - no. Even a piece of jewelry that uses a particular size or color of heart - no. It's still too general. But maybe a piece of jewelry that uses a particular size, color, and shape of heart on a particular size, color, and shaped background, with specific materials, etc. If someone copies your very specific, unique design, that's copyright infringement. Or your logo or something else that's branded to you/your company.

I've never been concerned over copyrighting my material, because you do not have to actually file something with the copyright office for your material to be protected under copyright law. If someone were printing out and copying my cards, I have evidence that they were mine mine mine first. But I can see how some people would want to have that paperwork filed.

Sarah, thanks for the great article. I just rec'd notification via email that I have been selected for the Beta site.
I'll let you know how it goes as soon as I fill out the forms,etc. they are sending. Doesn't sound too difficult.
I've read a few forum threads about people feeling like their work has been copied. This sounds like a great opportunity to prevent some of that.

This is a good idea and good move forward for the Copyright Office. But I firmly believe that the crafting community needs to move away from copyrights instead of towards them. With each extension of copyright law creative freedom becomes more and more curtailed and we lose cultural growth.

That being said if you make a pattern, article of clothing, or a piece of art it is protected upon creation and no one should be making money off of your work, it's simply wrong. But punitive law enforcement is not the way to go.

This is going to open cans of worms. We had issues over copyright (assumed copyrights, more likely)at Saturday Mkt in Portland back in the 80s (I'm sure they still do, but I was there "back in the day"). The worst offenders were immigrants who were less familiar with the concept and didn't much care when it was explained to them. New ideas would come in and be copied the following week. Sometimes the copier would come back with a bigger inventory after buying a sample and turning it into a production.
On the other hand - someone who has been producing a product that they thought was their idea can be scooped by someone who beats them to the "copyright" and this is going to happen over and over and people are going to be hurt. Do we want this? Not everyone will be savvy enough to get their item copyrighted online before exposing it to prying eyes. Will there be a chance to challenge a copyright - even after it is granted, by proving that you were producing that same item long before? AND how much must we change an item before we are no longer accused of copying? For example - the Etsians who sell long skinny scarves with the fringe on the long sides instead of the short end may think they thought of it first, but it's kind of a no-brainer - not that unique. If they copyright it, then can nobody sell scarves with the fringe on the long side, even if it's a fat cable scarf that looks totally different from the others? Is copyrighting "fringe on the long side" the same, or different from "fringe on the short side"? Copyrighting fringe is kind of like trying to copyright the back stitch or Basmati Rice - obnoxious abuse of the law. I saw someone making looped scarves like mine, so I changed the way I knit mine, totally, eliminating the finish work and giving it a new look. Who's copying whom? I initially got the idea from a famous knit designer and now my scarves don't look like hers or anybody elses (except for the old ones that I'm about to donate to the Goodwill).
And here's the real BIG question to ask ourselves:What if someone copies another's idea and does is better? Is it wrong for them to copy or is it wrong for us to stop someone for improving on an idea?