this was very very helpful I thought I was going to have to pay 50 plus dollars for each design smh thank you ...I wish someone would do a step by step tutorial of the process though thanks again for sharing
Great info dude.......Maybe one day I will make my own brand, definitely something I have been thinking about for years now.....So...here is the real challenge...Take a shot every time Ivan says “Helvetica”...later bro! ✌🏻
LOL!!!!! 🤣 I LOVE this comment! HAHAHA!!!!!!! But glad you liked the vid bro! Glad to see everyone getting some good help out of it.....If you play that game, you might end up having a great time 😁 or a bad time 🤢 hahaah!
When you go to submit your design they prefer it to be on an 8x11 digital file so you want to make the logo a reasonable size.. Not the size of a pencil eraser but also not the full page (unless you want to)... If your logo is about 2.5”x2.5” (or whatever size it may be), you’ll have all that extra space leftover, so if you want to copyright more things, you can! Hope this helps!
I did mine sometime around 2004 maybe. I did it in the current photoshop which I knew nothing about it. I used the espn lettering and took two days , two solid days of making! I’ve seen a couple places on the internet in the last few years that have stolen partial of my logo.
I was trying to copywrite a Michael Myers silhouette for a future company but super scared that it may be in violation, so I might redo the whole thing. Thanks for info
Yeah man no prob! Hope my vid didnt psych you out and stopped you from moving forward with anything! 😭 I aim to help not harm! hahahah But if you feel maybe this info allowed you to reconsider so you can move in a more effective way, then that's cool👌🏽 Thanks for watching!
My logo has the phone # in it can that be copyrighted being its incorporated into the logo. Another words if a company steals the number out of my logo to use it for their benefit or even the name it self without taking the physical logo it self. My thought is their still stealing my name and using it on their websites with their number on it. Would a copyright stop that with a cease & desist letter?
Great video! Very informative. Question: if your make a template and you want to copyright multiple pages can I fit all of my templates on one document, will I pay the copyright fee once? Can the multiple works be a multi-paged pdf?
Man so I paid $65 for one already , now I try to do group of unpublished work .. they charge me another $85 .. so it has to be done at all at once ? You can’t return to it and add more later ?
I believe if you pay for adobe as an example you are covered by their licensing to use Helvetica for example in a logo as long as your paying for the membership. But as soon as you cancel the logos someone made with Adobe fonts would need to get a license or authorization from the creators of the fonts or who ever is holding the rights at the time. If someone could correct me if I am wrong I am open to corrections. This is what I have researched but could be wrong. Just show evidence if i am wrong, would love to learn.
It's good to know because if you ever want to give someone a printed work and you have your initials and the copyright symbol on it either way you should I guess print it out larger than eight and a half by 11 so they can't submit it themselves. Good to know
I have a logo I plan to copyright. It is asymmetrical but could be used reversed meaning mirror imaged. Should I include the mirror image in my application?
Hello! Bro thanks alot for informing about the way to get something copyright. I have a question that do I need to be US citizen to get something registered. Or I can have it registered in my own country through US copyright. Or I have to ask my own government.
Question.. When you submitted the design work did you have to upload the drawing, vector file, a pdf or jpeg? I have a original design I've been wanting to submit but all information I've come across say it's not possible if its just words. But seeing your video now changes that sense I did creating everything myself on paper and then finalized in adobe illustrator.
Hey! So, when uploading your final artwork, you'll want to upload whatever is your FINAL design, so not drafts, comps, revisions, etc. (Nike wouldnt upload a work-in-progress logo)..And the site accepts most file types. A JPG or PDF file will do just fine. No need to upload the vector file. And I highly recommend making the file an 8.5x11 document with your artwork placed at a reasonable size and if there's left over space on the paper, add another piece of artwork! Cant hurt copyrighting more work right? 🤷🏽♂️ Hope this helps! I found this on the Gov site if this helps as well: stream-media.loc.gov/copyright/gruw.mp4
Andrew Aguirre wrote, “…I've come across say it's not possible [to register a work] if its just words.” That’s correct. An alphabetic letter, a number, a word, a short phrase, a title, or a name are NOT copyrightable. If your illustration includes text, that’s fine; however, only the non-text expression is copyrightable. A logo that is merely a word- or letter-mark is NOT copyrightable. If a word-mark identifies (brands) a product or service, it could be registered as a federal trademark. Also, common shapes and symbols (alone, by themselves) without any other creative elements are NOT copyrightable; they need more creative authorship. The US Copyright Office writes: *“Words and short phrases, such as names, titles, and slogans, are UNCOPYRIGHTABLE [emphasis added] because they contain an INSUFFICIENT [emphasis added] amount of [creative] authorship. The [Copyright] Office will NOT [emphasis added] register individual words or brief combinations of words [like a word logo], even if the word or short phrase is novel, distinctive, or lends itself to a play on words.”* See pages 2-3 of www.copyright.gov/circs/circ33.pdf Andrew Aguirre wrote, “But seeing your video now changes that sense I did creating everything myself on paper and then finalized in adobe illustrator.” Ivan Preciado’s (aka TheWalkinGiant) procedure to register a group of illustrations on a single sheet of paper is likely not correct. The US Copyright Office updated its on-line registration procedures via its GRUW (Group Registration for Unpublished Works) application that Ivan linked. Using the GRUW on-line application, creatives can register up to TEN UN-published (non-photographic) works of the same category, like visual arts (un-published drawings, un-published illustrations, un-published paintings, un-published sculptures) the total fee is $85 total. See the tutorial “Group Registration of Unpublished Works”: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eR14iSM4esQ.html and www.copyright.gov/gruw/ Each work must include a separate title and must be uploaded in a separate electronic file. Do not submit all of your works in the same electronic file (such as a PDF); one work per file. (There is an exception for music: Up to ten un-published music compositions AND their ten corresponding un-published sound-recordings can be registered). Your GRUW application can NOT include published works. If your illustrations have been “published” (they’ve been sold, licensed, or shared, or made available for further distribution), then you may have to register each one separately using the Single or Standard Application (see below). The fee to register ONE un-/published work (like one book or one illustration or one photograph or one painting or one cartoon or one poem) with one author who’s the same copyright claimant, that’s not a-work-for-hire project, that does not include any third-party creative media, is $45. Use the “Single Application” (on-line eCO application): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MkBiPQNDVBc.html Otherwise, to register a single un-/published work with multiple authors, and/or as a derivative/collective work, and/or that includes CC, Public Domain, and/or licensed media, etc., the fee is $65. Use the “Standard Application” (on-line eCO application): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6gNkssUfYas.html
When I submitted at the time of this recording, I was asked to submit a sheet of paper (8.5x11) and my understanding was everything on that sheet of paper was going to receive copyright certification once reviewed+approved by the government. So, I submitted a bunch of my illustrations at an appropriate viewing size and all of them were approved. If you wish to submit 12 variations of your logo then so be it 🤷🏽♂️
@@TheWalkinGiant wrote, “When I submitted at the time of this recording, I was asked to submit a sheet of paper (8.5x11) and my understanding was everything on that sheet of paper was going to receive copyright certification once reviewed+approved by the government.” Keep in mind that if two or more of those logos are infringed, you’re likely only entitled for one award of statutory damages, as all 12 of your logos would likely be deemed a single collective work. Was your registration filing fee $65 or $85? If it was the former, then you registered via the “Standard Application.” The Standard Application only permits one work to be registered (your 12 logos would be deemed one work). If your logos and visual artworks are all UN-published, and to save money on US copyright registration filing fees, you can “group-register” from two to ten UN-published visual art works via the $85 *“Group Registration of Unpublished Works” (GRUW)* on-line application. You can NOT include any published work when submitting a GRUW application.
@nicolekercado2571 wrote, “When you say submit a dozen things for the price of one, so your mean a dozen different variations is the logo?” If you qualify, in that you created the ENTIRE logo YOURSELF and you did NOT include any third-party creative content (NO AI, NO Creative Commons, etc.), you can register one work (one logo) via the “Single Application” (also known as *One Work by One Author)* for $45. Otherwise, to register a single work, use the $65 “Standard Application.” Scroll down: In this thread, I explained how to register up to ten UN-published logos (variations) using the $85 GRUW application. Write back if you need more help registering your logos.
Do all the the things added to application need to be of same name and logo to get copyrighted? Or can I add different brand name logos on same application?
Ok this might be a dumb question but my logo is a drawing I did and I have text underneath that is the name of my brand. I have it vectored and the text in in a preexisting font. Can I just copywrite the logo and then put the text underneath when I’m printing or would it be illegal to use anything preexisting fonts on my clothing at all even if I don’t try to copyright the text.
Exactly what I was looking for much appreciated, So I have a logo that I want to get copyrighted using two letters of a Microsoft word font, Not Helvetica.. Do you think this will be approved?
So it will get approved, but it will be considered a "weak logomark" and, if worst comes to worst, that wont hold up very well in court. What I would recommend is redrawing the two letters from scratch then vectoring it. Which actually wouldnt take very long. You cant print the Microsoft Word font and then trace it, or directly copy anything from it...You have to draw it from the beginning 100% from scratch. It can look like the font (that's no problem). You're getting inspired by the font. So when you draw it your curves, points, angles, etc will be slightly different making it an original drawing which is what you want. Hope this helps!
*SPECIAL NOTE: Not All Logos Are Copyrightable:* If your logo is merely a word-mark with fancy typeface/fonts that does NOT include any creative artistry (illustration, graphics, etc.), then it’s not likely copyrightable, and the US Copyright Office won’t register it. As well, short phrases, a letter, a number, a word, a title of anything, geometric shapes, common and familiar symbols (like a heart) by themselves are NOT copyrightable. To have a strong copyright claim, your logo needs to include LOTS of artistic/creative expression. Again, fancy typeface/font by itself is not copyrightable. See Circular 33 (“Works Not Protected By Copyright”) for more information on what can be registered via the US Copyright Office: www.copyright.gov/circs/circ33.pdf
@fineapples2248 wrote, “so the reason this logo is copyrightable is because you hand-crafted the the letters, correct?” You can obtain a logo copyright whether it’s created by hand or via Adobe Illustrator or another software. Keep this in mind: TheWalkinGiant’s logo is actually NOT copyrightable; the US Copyright Office will not register logos that are merely word marks, no matter how fancy the typeface/font is used. I made a previous post and included a US Copyright Office link that explains the copyrightablity of logos. Search the comments for *“SPECIAL NOTE: Not All Logos Are Copyrightable”* or my handle “cnlicnli”.
I made a logo for my mom's business and i wants to copyright and give her the rights to it. Do I register it in her name even though I made it. Or put in it my name and just give it to her?
You can do one of the 2 options: 1) Register the copyright under her name or 2) Register the copyright under both your's and her's name That way, either she has the ownership or both of you do and that's no problem. When you're creating the registration there'll be a section for "Owners" (or something along the lines of "Who Owns This" type of thing) and you can place both of your names there. Hope this helps! 👍🏽
What about using logo maker apps? I’m pretty sure there’s no copyright infringement there at least from what I read in the reviews. This one guy used the app to make a logo for his hair salon. Any feed back?
Basically they said I gotta add more detail to my cross I designed as my logo and I wanna know is dusse or vlone logo copyrighted because mind is similar
Hi Ivan Preciado. Your copyright information is not fully correct. Copyright does *NOT* protect words, letters, short phrases, taglines, and names. In order to be able to register a logo, it *MUST* include some creative/fancy drawing/illustration. You can *NOT* register a logo that is merely a “word-mark” like “Walking Giants.” No matter their fanciful ornamentation, calligraphy, lettering, and scripting of fonts/words, are also NOT copyrightable. The US Copyright Office writes: *“Words and short phrases, such as names, titles, and slogans, are UNCOPYRIGHTABLE [emphasis added] because they contain an INSUFFICIENT [emphasis added] amount of [creative] authorship. The [Copyright] Office will NOT [emphasis added] register individual words or brief combinations of words [like a word logo], even if the word or short phrase is novel, distinctive, or lends itself to a play on words.”* See pages 2 to 3 at www.copyright.gov/circs/circ33.pdf In summary, design your logo with PLENTY of creativity (make it look artsy); otherwise, the US Copyright Office may refuse your logo registration. On the other hand, if your logo identifies (“brands”) your product/s or service/s, you might be eligible for a *registered trademark* (you’ll need a trademark attorney’s help to complete the technical/legal application). See www.USPTO.gov.
Hey I live in the Republic of Ireland and the law here states that we do not need to formally register for a copyright of our work. Would I still be protected outside of Ireland and would methods in this video still be useful for me to take or does this only apply to the people in America? Thank you!
Hey! Unfortunately I made this video only for people in America and I am really not sure about the international copyright laws, and I really don't want to spread wrong information. Honestly that is a very good topic for me to research even for myself for my own company so I can look into it, but it might take me a while to get back to you about it. But if the laws in your country say you don't need to formally register for a copyright then I assume the government grants a provisional copyright upon creation so that ppl can protect their intellectual property without having to go through the laborious task of getting a formal copyright registration, but I do not know how that copyright translates across international borders :\. I would honestly just research more of your country's copyright laws as it pertains to int'l borders. I wish I could help more but I really dont have any information on that.
JKhan Live writes, “Hey I live in the Republic of Ireland and the law here states that we do not need to formally register for a copyright of our work. Would I still be protected outside of Ireland…” Both the US and the Republic of Ireland and many other countries belong to the *“Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works”* (an international copyright treaty). Berne countries, and the US, grant their citizens with automatic copyright upon creation; no formal copyright registration or copyright notice is required, and each country grants other Berne countries with reciprocal copyright protection. You and other international creatives are exempt from having to register your copyrights with the US Copyright Office (USCO) when pursuing US-based infringers. However, you will have to provide evidence of your copyright creation and ownership claims to a US federal judge. Americans, on the other hand, help prove their copyright claims by “timely” registering (and “certifying”) their creative works with the USCO (either before publication or within five-years of first-publication). This timely action provides creatives with “presumptive legal proof” (prima facie evidence) that they have a valid copyright, and the facts stated in their copyright registration applications (who’s the copyright author, copyright claimant, year of creation, year of first-publication, etc.) will be deemed valid unless disproved by the court or others. Creatives MUST certify to their “best ability that their registration application is correct.” Creatives, who knowingly lie or misrepresent a material fact in their copyright registration application, are subject up to a US$2,500 criminal fine. The US copyright registration system is very much a vetting process that helps authenticate our copyright validity. In the US, it’s not the original or RAW file that necessarily proves our copyright ownership/creation claim, but rather our issued-copyright Certificate of Registration - that’s US federal law! It’s horrendously costly to litigate copyright disputes in the US. Victorious creatives are NOT permitted to pursue attorney fees against the infringers, just the actual money damages (typically low licensing fees) and disgorgement of unlawful profits (if any!) recovered via trial or from an out of court settlement, making it *UNECONOMICAL* for both Americans and international creatives to pursue US infringers. However, both US and international creatives who *“timely”* registered their copyrights with the USCO (either BEFORE the infringement begins or WITHIN three-months of its first-publication date) can pursue enhanced statutory damages up to US$150,000 AND attorney fees and legal costs against infringers located in the US. To mitigate their financial legal exposure, most all US copyright infringers will want to settle out of court when facing a timely registered copyright claim (against non-Fair Use/non-fair dealing claims). Infringers who choose NOT to settle, and where the US/Berne plaintiff creative prevails at trial, the US infringer is now liable for statutory damages AND the creative’s attorney fees! In addition, I have to believe that a *Certificate of Registration* issued by the US Copyright Office could be used to help prove your copyright ownership claims in your and other Berne countries. I also have to believe that a court outside the United States would respect & honor official documents issued by the US Copyright Office, an official US government entity. This law article further explains why international creatives, and especially those who are licensing, selling, distributing, sharing their work in the US, should timely register their copyrights with the USCO (just replace the word “companies” with “illustrators,” “photographers,” “artists,” and other creatives”): donahue.com/resources/publications/copyrights-registered-u-s/ JKhan Live writes, “…would methods in this video still be useful for me to take or does this only apply to the people in America?” Ivan Preciado’s (aka TheWalkinGiant) procedure to register many (unpublished) illustrations on a single sheet of paper is likely not correct. The US Copyright Office updated its on-line registration procedures via its GRUW (Group Registration for Unpublished Works). Using the GRUW’s on-line application, creatives can register up to TEN UN-published (non-photographic) works of the same category, like visual arts (un-published drawings, un-published illustrations, un-published paintings, un-published sculptures) the fee is US$85 total. See the tutorial “Group Registration of Unpublished Works”: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eR14iSM4esQ.html and www.copyright.gov/gruw/ Each work must include a separate title and must be uploaded in a separate electronic file. Do not submit all of your works in the same electronic file (such as a PDF); one work per file. (There is an exception for music: Up to ten un-published music compositions AND their ten corresponding un-published sound-recordings can be registered). A GRUW application can NOT include published works. If your illustrations have been “published” (they’ve been sold, licensed, or shared, or made available for further distribution), then you may have to register each one separately using the Single or Standard Application (see below). The fee to register ONE un-/published work (like one book or one illustration or one photograph or one painting or one cartoon or one poem) with one author who’s the same copyright claimant, that’s not a-work-for-hire project, that does not include any third-party creative media, is US$45. Use the “Single Application” (on-line eCO application): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MkBiPQNDVBc.html Otherwise, to register a single un-/published work with multiple authors, and/or as a derivative/collective work, and/or that includes CC, Public Domain, and/or licensed media, etc., the fee is US$65. Use the “Standard Application” (on-line eCO application): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6gNkssUfYas.html
I’ve been thinking about doing graphic design tutorials and tips. If I get enough interest in it (like this comment, and more comments) then I’ll do some 👌🏽
