THE HELP HUB: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND COPYRIGHT

DRAFT: THIS IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS!

Here are a few resources I have found useful in this area. This page is very basic and bare-bones for now but I plan to add to it over time, and improve the appearance. This page starts with a brief outline of IP and copyright and if you scroll down you’ll find suggestions of some ways in which/ideas for how you may be able to support and be mindful of artist copyright and Intellectual Property (IP) rights on social media, written by an artist who has experienced these issues.

Please note, the contents below are (clearly) not exhaustive, the focus is UK so requirements may be quite different in other jurisdictions (e.g. regarding registration etc) and this is purely based on my own experience/resource or reading. It may not apply to your situation, may become out of date etc and should not be relied upon as it is not legal advice etc. Readers are responsible for conducting their own investigations/taking professional advice where required, but I am hoping this may give you a few arenas to investigate further. I cannot vouch for the validity of the contents of linked pages (though would like to hope the UK government ones are at least accurate!).

What intellectual property is

Having the right type of intellectual property protection helps you to stop people stealing or copying:

the names of your products or brands
your inventions
the design or look of your products
things you write, make or produce

Copyright, patents, designs and trade marks are all types of intellectual property protection. You get some types of protection automatically, others you have to apply for.

(Source of the above section “What intellectual property is”: UK Government website)

Copyright

In the UK, in contrast to the US/various States in the US, you get copyright protection automatically (see below) - you don’t have to apply, register or pay a fee. There isn’t an official register of copyright works in the UK (however there are places you can register work if you wish to, and some provide badges you can use on your website - also see below).
In the UK, copyright protection is automatic when you create:

Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work, including illustration and photography;
Original non-literary written work, such as software, web content and databases;
Sound and music recordings;
Film and television recordings;
Broadcasts;
The layout of published editions of written, dramatic and musical works.

You can mark your work with the copyright symbol (©), your name and the year of creation. Whether you mark the work or not doesn’t affect the level of protection you have.

There are however sites where you can register copyright in the UK if you want to (various come up in Google searches).

Copyrighted.com is one such site that I have used myself and it is free to register work. If you do register a work with them, they provide code which you can embed into your listings/web page (for the specific artwork) to display a copyright badge (they offer different kinds, such as "registered and protected" etc), and which can be clicked on to then link to the specific registration certificate. I am not sure whether the certificates they link to are compliant also in other jurisdictions (and in the UK, technically they are not needed anyway, but it is a nice to have), so users need to take their own legal advice etc/ensure fit for purpose, but it might be worth flagging this also.

Useful Links

The UK government has a few useful links on IP etc:

https://www.gov.uk/topic/intellectual-property/copyright

https://www.gov.uk/copyright

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ip-crime-and-enforcement-for-consumers/ip-crime-and-enforcement-for-consumers

Also in the UK, The Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS) is a big resource on this topic (seems to be an issue with their security certificate today, ironically, but I imagine that will be sorted asap). https://www.dacs.org.uk/knowledge-base/copyright-advice-for-artists

Other Suggestions:

These are pretty basic for now but I will include them anyway.
- watermark work in Photoshop etc (can't always do this as sometimes galleries don't want images with marks on). Just add a layer and add text, play around with the opacity etc.
- set up your website so that images can't be lifted (dragged into iphoto etc).
- on social media landing pages etc, always note that all work and images are copyright and all rights reserved etc etc
- get familiar with Cease & Desist letters if you believe someone is breaching your copyright/IPR

- find an IP lawyer (sorry for stating the obvious).

I also attended an online “Intellectual Property Masterclass” in Aug 2020 by UK based Creative Wick. I took notes during the class and have shared them here - importantly, please note that these are not formal notes, they were not reviewed or signed off by those giving the course nor any other professional, the course was intended as guidance only, and no reliance can be placed on the content of these notes, I may have incorrectly recorded items etc. Neither I nor Creative Wick, nor the speakers, can vouch for the accuracy and reliability of these notes, and take no responsibility for their usage or reproduction etc. They do not form legal advice but I thought they might be of interest albeit with all these caveats. You must take your own legal advice. I did, however, get permission to share my notes!

Keith Arrowsmith presented- his contact details are as follows:

Keith Arrowsmith 07740 623636 0161 826 1266 0203 388 9902 keith@counterculturellp.com

William Chamberlain - founder of Creative Wick based in Hackney Wick

Keith’s headlines on IPR:

Some things available for free, some require budget

This is just general guidance and help, not specific legal assistance.

IDEAS

You can’t protect your “ideas” alone - you need to have more than an idea/concept in your head that you want to work on. There are a number of things you can do to progress your idea, some of these overlap, and relate to record keeping.

Ensure you keep records of your process. If we can go back through records to show how things have progressed, it helps support demonstrating that the idea belongs to you.

THINGS WE CAN DO

IPR/IP is the umbrella term that applies to all of the below.

Trade Marks

Patents

Designs

Data

Secrecy

1. Names & Brands

Business names - can have whatever business name you like as long as it doesn’t confuse the marketplace. Be transparent about the business name etc and who sits behind it.

Check names - there are many places to check names - check the Companies House website (but this won’t give you sole trader names, anyone who is in a Partnership etc - so it doesn’t give us a full picture), check the UK IPO “Intellectual Property Office” - they hold a database of registered brands (will cover how to register this later), Google, Trade Journals, Domain Name Registration, Social Media Accounts.

There is an online tool which allows you to check all social media accounts in one go - it is called KNOWEM.COM

Something NOT seen as necessary to do - The National Business register - set up in 1980s. There is no need to register your brand via this method. They will offer to register it for you for a large fee but there is not viewed to be a benefit in doing this.

Trademarks

International system - doesn’t protect the goods and services themselves but does protect the things that make it yours e.g. logo, colours etc, identifiable brand visual.

If there are similar brands, the person who started it first has the right to stop anyone else using their brand.

Protecting your brand can be free! There are free options or paid for options.

FREE:

The international symbol to tell people it is your brand is ‘TM’. It protects the brand whether that brand is a logo, graphic, words, symbols.

You can tell people that they must stop using visuals etc which look like “passing off” as your brand.

REGISTERING (NOT FREE):

Or register your brand at the IPO - registers it on a public database. Can take 3-4 months. there is an application fee. Cost will depend on where marketplace is. at the moment you can register for the whole of the UK, or part of Europe, or other countries - each country has its own registration. The basic UK search and registration process may cost you about £200 and will last for 10 years.

If you register with the IPO you get an entry on the public database and a registration number - it helps to get things copying/mimicking your brand to be taken down quickly if you have a registration number (e.g. if someone copies and sets up a Facebook page copying your brand).

Any brand can be protected as long as it is distinctive. You can’t put together a brand that is only descriptive.

2. PATENTS

A patent helps you if you have created something brand new.

Very expensive, thousands of pounds to get through the process in the UK alone, plus again around the world if you’re seeking to sell across the world.

You could get the paperwork filed, which would be a few thousand £, and during that time can test the waters - this is “patent pending”. Anyone in the marketplace can see this. If the product works, you can take the patent forward, if it doesn’t you can let it lapse.

CONFIDENTIALITY & TERMS & CONDITIONS: Make sure the people you are working with adhere to confidentiality undertakings.

3. CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS

You can find model documents on the web, sometimes called NDAs (non-disclosure agreements). You may also be required to sign up to one if you’re working for a business too.

US documents deal with this in a slightly different way to UK - so take care with which document templates etc you use, which jurisdiction you’re in etc.

4. DATA PROTECTION/PERSONAL DATA

Ensure you are aware and keep up with requirements

GDPR & The Data Protection Act

Items will change again with Brexit

There is potentially a lot of value to be found in your customer data - customer lists etc are important and can be more important than the goods and services themselves.

5. DESIGN RIGHTS PROTECTIONS

This is about how your goods look. There is a two tier process. One around registered designs, one around unregistered.

Unregistered design rights are free.

Need to show newness and distinctiveness in order to protect design-wise.

6. COPYRIGHT

Again, this is free in the UK. In the UK, you have automatic protection for any material that falls into one of the following AS SOON AS YOU HAVE PUT IT INTO PERMANENT FORM:

- original literary, dramatic musical or artistic works;

- any graphics, logos etc

- sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programs;

- arrangements of published editions

Your website for e.g. will automatically have copyright protection.

Copyright only stops copies. If someone else create material without any knowledge or access to yours, copyright doesn’t apply.

If you’re using material created by other people you need to ensure you have the correct permissions to use that first before you can protect your own work.

Emailing your own creations to yourself - helps with date stamp though it isn’t always fully reliable as some people mess around with date stamps. Ensure everything is backed up and stored with a third party (such as dropbox etc) - using a third party platform also helps to show that you haven’t messed around with the date stamp.

International symbol for copyright is the copyright c in a circle - you don’t have to use this though to obtain copyright.

P in a circle is about published rights.

You do NOT have to register your copyright in the UK. There are commercial entities offering UK registrations but it is unclear whether there is any value in spending money to register given you don’t need to register.

How Long Does Copyright Last?

For the life of the creator + 70 years from the end of the year in which the creator died. Gives both the creator and their estate a long enough period to get a licence period return. After that - they are then in the public domain.

No problem using older works e.g. Shakespeare without having to get permission etc.

Be careful though if you are going to be inspired by other people’s work - can be seen as a copy (e.g. Sheppard fairy’s Obama pastel was deemed to be a copyright breach of a photo of Obama, so SF is paying royalties).

If someone makes an image that is substantially the same/significantly similar to the original, it is unlikely they came up with the image on their own and will need to prove the image isn’t a copy.

What is the 7% rule?

People think that as long as they change 7 things, or change 7% of it, they will be let off - this is rubbish. The test is whatever a judge thinks makes two things similar. The 7% rule is not true.

Creative Commons

This is a kind of labeling method which can be used to communicate to others how your work can/can’t be used.

Makes use of Pictograms. Each pictogram has a meaning behind it. The Creative Commons website can help you.

Public Domain & Orphan Works….plus finding works on Pinterest

Orphan works - if you can’t find who created a photograph or image - you can then touch base with the IPO who can look into it and may be able to grant you permission to use that work for a small fee.

There is an international version of the IPO - an international system that is essentially a postbox that helps you deal with individual companies. There are conventions we have all signed up to that help but this obviously spirals in terms of costs. At the moment we in the UK can get European marks but this will change post end of year.

If someone finds an image on pinterest, the onus is on them to find out who owns the copyright and, if they can’t, to reach out to the IPO to obtain permission. If they do not reach out to the IPO, this is their problem, they can’t just use or recreate/copy something because they found it on pinterest, that does not make it “public domain”.

Photos of public artworks sold on image library sites - rights depend on where the artwork is situated. e.g. if it is i a private space it could be a breach of the terms and conditions of using that space. If it is in a public space, there is nothing you can do. However if they make a 3D printed copy of a sculpture that s a no. Make sure you are clear you don’t want it photographed.

Some ways to support and be mindful of artist copyright

and intellectual property rights on social media

Intellectual Property infringement, particularly copyright breaches, seem to be an increasing problem for many artists, designers and creators. This has been particularly true recently in the neon light field in which I work, where many of us find direct copies/near copies of our copyrighted artworks, often created by some of the companies selling LEDs (which they call “LED Neon” - but they are LEDs, not neon), but also sometimes by other neon shops. This takes up a large amount of artists’ time and energy and can also be detrimental to their business as a whole, a business that is tough to be in anyway.

In reading this page, please be aware that I obviously can’t speak for every artist out there, so whilst these are my opinions, others may (and probably do) differ. This is based purely on my own opinions and experience.

Many artists love to see their work being shared - as long as it is properly credited. It’s a great feeling when someone reposts your work, or takes a photo at a show and posts it online etc, and tags you (or later finds out it is you and tags you). What is not great is when people offer copies of the work, edit the work and then claim it as their own, or post it on their own pages to pass it off as their own work/their own branding/design when they are in a similar field (so on a quick visual inspection of an insta grid, for example, it could be thought to be their work).

In many cases, the artist’s issue is not primarily about money/compensation, it’s about theft of their work, their brand identify etc and the implications that may have for them going forward, as well as the time and effort they have put into creating their original ideas which are then being replicated or passed off in someone else’s business (for money).

I regularly post about this in my Insta stories, and I also regularly see it happening to others too who post examples in their social media platforms. In the neon world, there seems to be quite a supportive community on this front, but we are limited in the extent to which our voices can be heard and what we can do (plus it gets all consuming to be honest). Plus this issue is far wider. I also receive messages from kind followers who see my work, or LED copies of parts of my work, and let me know about it. Those followers often ask about what they can do to help here. To that end, I have put together the below outlining a few pointers, based on my understanding and views, around helping artists to maintain their copyright and ways to avoid breaching their copyright. So let’s take a look at some of the issues and some suggestions for how to possibly improve things on this front. I haven’t really covered other areas of IP here, like trademarks, branding/brand image etc, but it is something else I will come to in time.

Essentially, please help to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. This applies to artists, designers, followers, anyone out there really.

Disclaimer: the contents of this page are not legal advice. This is not exhaustive nor has it been reviewed for legal purposes, so I apply all the usual caveats that this cannot be relied upon etc, is created based on experience and my own ideas/understanding. I do not speak for artists or designers in general; their views may differ to my own. It includes just a few suggestions about how you may be able to help artists and be respectful of their Intellectual Property. The focus here is on copyright, which is just one strand of Intellectual Property. Following/adhering to the contents does not mean you may not be subject to, or may be able to successfully defend against, claims of Copyright or Intellectual Property Infringement by any artist, creator, business, company or designer including also Rebecca Mason and any companies associated with Rebecca Mason/Rebecca Mason Art. They are not examples or guidelines on which you can rely or which you can cite as a defence in any claim brought against you for Copyright, or more broadly, IP infringement.

Some (what I consider to be) key messages

Every single image you post that is not an image and/or artwork you personally created has originated somewhere, with someone, and that person may have copyright over that work. Think before you post or before you create a design that is very similar/referencing that work.

An item/image does not have to be marked as copyright to have copyright. In the UK, creators do not need to register copyright in order to obtain copyright.

Any photo you have taken of another’s artwork does not give you copyright over that underlying artwork.

Editing an image of an artist’s/designer’s original work does not give you copyright over that underlying artwork unless you have first received permission from the artist to do so.

If you’re reposting, credit the source.

If you don’t know who the artist is, or if the place you found the image was actually the creator, also write “artist unknown” (perhaps even encourage your followers to let you know who it is).

Do some research! Try reverse image searching in Google, or just a general search using identifying features. Sometimes it is pretty easy to find out who did the work.

If an artist contacts you to say it is their work and asks you to tag them, please do so, Please do not just block them - this happens so many times. If an artist is asking you to tag, they are most likely ok with you keeping the work up provided they are tagged.

Do not be surprised if you are asked to take down a work that may be a breach of an artist’s copyright. In many cases, the artist will completely understand that you were not to know (eg if the image is of a direct copy of their work) and is not personally criticising you for posting it. Fighting back at them, with counter arguments such as “my page is just for fun” or “i like how it looks on my feed”, “I don’t want this negativity on my page” or “but there are some slight differences” won’t help, as then you may appear to be supporting the infringement and have gone from unknowingly posting something in good faith, to implicitly/explicitly supporting copyright breaches that have been highlighted to you. You then potentially do create a bigger problem for yourself. If you love the image you’ve posted, but it is of a copy of an artist’s work, you can always ask the artist if they are happy for you to repost an image of their actual work and tag them, so your feed still has some lovely content, but the content creator is correctly recognised.

Of course, you are free to disagree with an artist’s assessment, but that might require or involve legal action further down the line, so be prepared to defend yourself, and face potential consequences, on that front if you disagree with an artist’s assessment.

If you have a business/creator account and are posting work by others that looks like it could be yours (e.g. same field), but are not highlighting that this is not your work, this action strikes me as an attempt to deliberately pass off the design as your own - this is unacceptable. How your insta feed/grid looks is a part of your brand and image, and if you’re using the work of others there who are in the same field but are not crediting them, this may create issues (think of how the grid looks on a quick initial glance - which is what many people do nowadays when looking at accounts they have just discovered).

A suggestion of what to do if you see an artist’s work being posted with no tag but you recognise the work as definitely their work.

I suggest just tagging the artist, unless the account looks to be offering copies for sale or passing it off as their own work.

A suggestion of what to do if you see a clear or near copy of artist’s work being posted for sale by a company/business producing similar products/work.

You could tag the artist, but I find the best thing to do is to send them a private message first with a screenshot. This allows the artist to have a record of the image and post, and to follow up as they see fit - they may already have an open case with that specific poster, company etc. If you just tag the artist, the original poster may see that and if they had intentionally infringed IP, may block you, the artist or take down the post and then the artist doesn’t have the opportunity to make a record of it for further action.

Bear in mind it may not always be clear cut - it could be the case that the artist you follow actually copied (in the examples I have seen this isn’t the case, but playing devil’s advocate, let’s not rule this out).

Some example scenarios

“I have had an idea for something influenced by or inspired by an artist’s work so took it to a fabricator to make for me”
Is the artist still alive? Then go to them to discuss commissioning them to do a piece for you or to discuss your idea to get their views!
Please don’t go elsewhere to have someone make a copy, or something that has such visual overlap that it may still infringe their IP. If the artist is no longer living and the work is old it may no longer be in copyright, or you may need to approach whoever manages their estate and brand.

“But there was no copyright mark/watermark or name on it, so it’s fine to use it”
If you found an image, or took an image of an artwork, that isn’t yours, you know it originated somewhere, with someone. It does not have to have a copyright mark, tag or name on it. If you repost it, be prepared for an artist to contact you to ask to have it tagged, or to have it removed. If you offer copies of it (or very close variants, such that copyright/IP is breached) for sale, aside from being a deeply uncool thing to do, you risk being sued for damages amongst other things.

Many artists do watermark their work, but also, for some online listings and seller platforms, work is not watermarked. Many people repost artists’ works with a repost label, but many do not.

“It’s ok if I am posting the work “just for fun” rather than business purposes. I do not have to tag an artist if I become aware of them, nor can they ask me to remove it because I am not offering the work for sale”I don’t agree. When an artist flags the issue to you, if you refuse, you are possibly then moving from (understandably) unknowingly posting something that breaches copyright (e.g. if it was a copy created by a third party and you posted it from the third party’s account, tagging the third party in good faith but having no idea that the image is actually a rip off of another work) to knowingly posting this/keeping a post up, and that may be a problem. An artist will likely understand the unknowingly posting scenario but not the continued desire to keep it up after being flagged.

“Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery”
No. This phrase dates back to the early 19th century (I think it was first published around 1820), and there are earlier variants prior to this. It makes more sense when comparing, back then, styles of dressing, or demeanour/ways of behaving etc (e.g. dressing in a similar way to someone, copying their mannerisms etc…imitating a person) but it is not a fair read across to the copying of artwork, designs and content (especially mass produced or to the masses and/or for money) in 2020. These are completely different applications. There is nothing sincere about Intellectual Property infringement; I believe it is theft. (The ‘sincere’ element of the phrase is often thought to be because a person may subconciously imitate another they admire etc, and it’s therefore seen as more ‘sincere’ than other forms of flattery which may have an ulterior motive eg to obtain something).

Imagine how you’d feel if someone stole your work in your job or took credit (and perhaps made money) from what you’d done. You’d be angry, right? Remember that most artists finance the work themselves, they actually PAY to do their work (i.e. pay to actually do their jobs), and never know when or if it will be sold. Most artists do not earn much anyway. There is no excuse for copying their work or infringing their IP. It is extremely frustrating to get a response of “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” (or some variant thereof) in response to this matter.

Some excuses I have heard

“Our third party designer may have unintentionally referenced the work when looking at Pinterest”
This is a recent “favourite” of mine. I don’t know how someone “unintentionally references” then reproduces an image they have seen.

“I don’t follow you on instagram” [therefore didn’t copy you] - you don’t need to. Often the accounts that say this did once follow you, or follow lots of other accounts you follow/collaborated with/or follow your close personal friends and family, so you know they are watching or were.

“I was not aware of you” - you don’t need to be aware of me, just my artwork.

“We just show this image to clients to give them design ideas” whilst simultaneously saying “DM to order [the design]”.

“I do not sell your ideas” - technically you’re not selling ideas, or selling items as [my] idea, you’re selling physical products.

“You should have put your name on it if you didn’t want it copied” - so it’s my fault you used/copied/offered for sale a copy of an image that you know was not yours originally? We should all just ignore that copyright laws exist and instead put our names on things? This is a kind of victim shaming mentality. The copyright mark etc isn’t needed in the UK. Often there are good reasons why the name/watermark is not on it (such as an online listing gallery site that doesn’t accept watermarked pictures. In those cases I do firmly believe it should not be possible to lift pictures. Sometimes it is just that others cut them off, or someone took a photo of a piece and used that photo to offer copies for sale).

For artists, some thoughts:

Don’t be a hypocrite on this topic - if you copy or infringe the IP of another creator, aside from this being really uncool and unacceptable, you may find it harder to fight your corner when it happens to you.

If you want to use something subject to copyright, or which may be subject to copyright, find who owns the copyright and reach out to them to obtain permission (or be declined). If you’re not sure if something is a copyright issue, speak to a Copyright/IP specialist or lawyer to get advice. Some things may be too generic etc to be an issue.

IP/Copyright varies by jurisdiction. One example is that in the UK, it is my understanding that you do not need to officially register copyright to have copyright over an artwork you have made (assuming that work doesn’t actually infringe someone else’s copyright), but in some US states you must register the work to have copyright over it.

For more info on IP in the UK, try the links I have posted further up the page.

Scenario: Someone has come to me with a commission request and is showing me artwork by other artists/designers that is very similar.

Personally, I turn down this kind of work immediately, and often I let the original creator know if someone is asking for copies of work. I have had neon places come to me and tell me the same, and I am always very grateful to them. Saying it was a commission shouldn’t get you off the hook and is (at the least) disrespectul in my view, plus doesn’t help customers understand this issue.

Scrapping ideas
Sometimes you may just find yourself best scrapping or changing ideas if you see someone has already done something similar. I often have ideas for neons, I search to see if it is out there, and I check the work by other artists in my field, particularly those exhibiting at the moment (both in the UK and overseas). If I see that one has done that word/phrase already, I usually scrap it unless I can be comfortable it is very different (eg the style, size, what else is going on with the piece etc, themes etc). What I have also done in the past sometimes is reached out to those artists and told them about my idea, asked their feelings on it etc, to get their view. But also I have asked myself how it would look, whether others would think I had copied. If I think it is a bit close, I have my answer already to be honest. It means passing on ideas I really love, I can think of a couple I was gutted about but I didn’t feel it was right to go ahead even though they may still have been very different to another artist’s work. Out of respect I don’t do it (this usually relates to words that are the same or similar, although none of us owns words, but style, composition, actual design/font etc are important) even though I am not always given that same respect by others. It’s also why I post dates to my work and work in progress a lot.

Coincidences
Coincidences do happen, try not to jump to conclusions (unless it is completely obvious and beyond the realms of reasonable possibility that a coincidence could have happened!).
Importantly, sometimes coincidences do happen and there is no way one party could have known what the other party was creating or even knew that the other party/the work existed (e.g. when both are already busily creating something at the same time but neither has posted anything publicly - this has happened to me too, it happens). Be respectful of this also. Don’t just assume someone copied you - it may be that they started the work before you started yours and have records to show this, so investigate first before calling someone out (especially publicly - though I always think private discussions are best and only go public as a last resort), as you might have got it wrong and you’ll do yourself no favours plus incorrectly accuse someone of something which may be deeply upsetting. Sometimes there are definitely not coincidences (e.g. where people have copied my lights in my exact handwriting, which is quite a specific scrawl) but get the facts straight first. In those cases, liaise with the other party involved and see if you can come to a mutual agreement or at least demonstrate neither has breached the other’s copyright/IP rights.

SOME EXAMPLES

Here are some examples of where I have seen my work, and the work of others, copied. I have focused here on neon/light art because of the regularity of incidences recently.

[TO BE INSERTED!]

OPEN LETTER TO LED SIGN MAKERS AND OTHER NEON FABRICATORS WHO MAY RECEIVE REQUESTS TO PRODUCE WORK WHICH COPIES MY DESIGNS/DO WORK VERY CLOSE TO MY DESIGNS SUCH THAT THEY WOULD BREACH MY COPYRIGHT/IP RIGHTS.

[Planning to include an open letter here which I will also send to insta accounts etc and the manufacturers etc making LED signs or Neon signs, to ensure they are aware of my work, and the work of anyone else who wants to be included on that letter, and reminding them that they are prohibited from copying it. In creating such a letter/posting this here, I am in no way stating or implying that all LED or neon sign makers are doing this - plenty are great at not infringing copyright and feel the same as I do, but there are some companies where this is, or has been, problematic at the moment, e.g. Neon Beach were offering for sale a copy of my “[ERROR]” light without the background. Whilst it is the responsibility of the companies to not copy copyrighted designs/work subject to IP protection, flagging my work might also still be of use as an extra backstop]

Disclaimer: the contents of this page are not legal advice. They are not exhaustive. Following the above does not mean you may not be subject to, or may be able to successfully defend against, claims of Copyright or Intellectual Property Infringement by any artist, creator, business, company or designer including also Rebecca Mason and any companies associated with Rebecca Mason/Rebecca Mason Art. They are not examples or guidelines on which you can rely or which you can cite as a defence in any claim brought against you for Copyright, or more broadly, IP infringement.