Questions tagged [copyright]
Questions about copyright law from a designers point of view. Answers should not be treated as bona fide legal advice, but instead as advice from designers who've experienced copyright issues in their career. Ask anything about how copyright relates to graphic design, though bear in mind that we are not lawyers.
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Freelance design contract offer - Regarding the "ownership of work product" - what is really owned?
I am relatively new to working in design, based in the UK, currently freelancing and have been working with one company in particular (also UK based) for many months now. They have recently suggested ...
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Can I use someone else’s color scheme?
I often see color themes using names of companies or products and wonder if there are potential legal issues.
For example, there are blog themes out there which replicate the look of Edward Tufte’s ...
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Can artists feature art that they've sold in their portfolio?
Is it okay for me to have artwork that has already been sold in my portfolio? Or does all of the work I put in my portfolio need to be for sale?
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Can I use pngs from apps like picsart in a portfolio?
I am looking to make my portfolio for college but a lot of the pngs and images I use are from picsart or images from the internet? Could I use them? I'm unsure how to credit things from picsart, I'm ...
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Can I use a sprite sheet from an existing video game for my promotional reel?
I want to make a Motion Graphics promotional reel for uploading on YouTube and I like to make something with a retro aesthetic.
I think to use old videogame sprite sheets to make backgrounds and ...
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What are the copyright laws regarding using other peoples designs for profit?
I'm curious about the copyright laws regarding using content someone else has created for profit.
For example, Vecteezy is a site where designers upload their vector artwork for others to download for ...
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freepik and flaticon doesnt allow their image to be used as main element?
so in 2018 i created a mobile game using resource from Flaticon and Freepik.
and recently i buy the premium subscription from flaticon. after reading the FAQ again, some of it make me confused so i ...
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How can I sell animated vectors? [closed]
I am a motion designer and I usually get vector assets from sites like Freepik or Envato Elements... then animate them in order to use them in my motion graphics videos.
I am asking whether it's ...
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I used Segoe Script for a logo comission but it’s license is only for free for Personal Use
I made a logo commission a few months ago
And while I designed the images myself I used the Segoe Script font for the words.
I’ve only recently read that it’s only legal for PERSONAL USE. What should ...
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Agency for a maj recording artist wants to license logo for merch/marketing campaign. How to negotiate 1 time payment for use on co branded products?
Agency for a major recording artist wants to license family business logo for merchandise/marketing campaign.
They are in the list of top selling recording artists in music history.
How to negotiate ...
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It was never my intention but my startup logo looks similar to Google Colab's logo. Should I change it? [duplicate]
My startup's logo (left) looks very similar to Google Colab's logo (right). I don't think it would cause any confusion as my company operates in a completely different market. However, I am getting a ...
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Can my employer own my personal work made outside of work hours
I have just been offered an interview for my first Graphic Design job outside of commissions and college, but I had a quick question about ownership rights for artwork. In my spare time, I create ...
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Changing logo color scheme
I own a registered logo design. It is currently in black and white. Can I legally change the color scheme from black and white to other colors?
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Am I pushing the limits of copyright law with this logo? [duplicate]
I've produced this logo for a client. It's for a website with funny stories about working in retail.
Logo
The logo is meant to parody the look of the following three retail companies in the UK:
https:/...
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A photo in public domain enhanced by software, does that affect copyright?
I want to include public domain photos in a history book. If I use 3rd party software to enhance the image - does the software company own the rights of the altered image?
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How do you obtain official brand logos for design prototypes?
I need to use company logos as a part of my designs. These companies are institutions that are stakeholders for my client. Some sites have SVGs you can grab from the website but how does one go about ...
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At what point does one decide a font is in the public domain?
I've tried to find who created the font Orion Esperanto Normala (which is quite similar to Arial), but none of the distributions I've found have either stated the author's name or included any kind of ...
user159870
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Client requesting source files to all design drafts and to all versions throughout the process
I started logo and packaging design a year ago. The client warned me they would be complicated and would demand many changes - however, I believed with my skills (and love for the product) we would ...
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Watermark suggestions for portfolio work
I’m open to either mobile or desktop applications, I’d like to start water marking my work and making illustrated marketing photos for advertisements.
I've tried a bunch of free apps but I’d like one ...
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How do I protect a typeface I have designed from being pirated? [closed]
I have professional experience at designing typefaces dating back forty years, and I recently designed a new kind of typeface for which I wrote a small user's guide which essentially describes the ...
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Software package recommendation please
I am looking for the best value, basic, beginners software packages that can help me create my own personalised cards & print gifts for friends & family please?
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Using Play Store badges and F logos, etc. on printed material
There are established guidelines about the use of the Play Store logo, Facebook F logo, etc. in websites, etc.
There is a related question on this topic here. Google play store has its guidelines here....
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using fonts that are under (personal use only) license to make commercial coaching notes
I have downloaded a font for personal use only.
Can I use it for preparing my commercial coaching notes as if I were a teacher?
Those fonts make my notes attractive.
Should I buy a commercial license?
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Is sketching or drawing someone else's photograph a copyright violation?
If someone were to sketch or draw (digital or otherwise) an existing photograph by someone else of say, the Pyramids of Giza (by "photograph", I'm referring to images taken with a camera and ...
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Can I post redesigns of album covers in my portfolio online? [duplicate]
Former student in graphic design, I am currently working on personal projects to widen my portfolio.
I love to design album covers. I never had clients for that, so I have been re-designing real ...
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Logo too similar or not? [closed]
Hi we have a logo I designed, it is UK trademarked registered, we recently asked a company in the USA to help market us, and the said that we would have to change our name etc, as it was too similar ...
user153401
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When to tell long-term client I'm retiring within the next year
For fiteen years I've been designing a quarterly forty-page publication (print & online) and numerous other smaller projects for a small city. Now I'm planning to retire in the next six to twelve ...
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Credit for Dancing Skeleton ClipArt [closed]
I am wondering if anyone can help me find information on who created the following image. It's an incredibly common piece of online clipart, but its origins and the name of the original artist seem to ...
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Can I use the VHS Logo for a commercial Artwork? [closed]
I'm planning to make an artwork as a spotify sonng cover with a VHS style and I was wondering if I could have used this logo for this job:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/...
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Would redrawing images completely from scratch be considered copyright infringement, if they look the same? [duplicate]
Assuming an anatomical figure from a popular anatomy book is drawn completely from scratch, and I have the PSD file to prove it, would it still be considered copyright infringement, even though it's ...
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Can I use an images (with people) for a club poster?
I work as a designer for a department at a college. My main task is designing posters/flyers for student clubs to advertise their club meetings and events. I always try to use public domain photos ...
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Is it right to use the ideas of non-winning designers in a design contest?
I am a mobile developer. I want to create my own mobile app, so I ran a contest for the mobile design.
Many good designers participated in the contest. I get lots of good ideas from almost all of ...
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Keep Calm Crown Copyright [closed]
Can I use the "Keep Calm Crown" in a commercial design or is there any copyright?
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Displaying a proprietary logo modified to match website style [duplicate]
I'm designing a blog that has a "Tags" page.
I was thinking of displaying a modified logo for each tag.
For example:
Tag: CocaCola Logo: CocaCola logo modified
How legal is this approach?
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How to find out the date of copyright on font
I have a question about copyright infringement on fonts.
I downloaded a free font in 2011 and there was not a EULA included. Now,8 years later I have been contacted by this individual who says he the ...
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How to decide if a design is very similar to my own work?
Edit: They finally responded and the cartoonist and his work submitted has been disqualified from that competition.
I recently found out that a cartoon which was drawn just like one of my own posters ...
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Did my client plagiarize me? [closed]
I’ve been doing some side hustle marketing on a very small scale. An acquaintance of mine asked me to create a logo for their new company. I created a few different versions and presented them with ...
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Using game related images, wallpapers etc in commercial design products
I am looking to expand my graphic design services more into the gaming & esports space. For example, esports jerseys, Twitch.tv streaming graphics, web themes & templates, etc.
In many cases ...
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Copyright of graphic designs provided to ex-partner who is not paying [closed]
As a freelance graphic artist, I designed a logo, flyer, and truck signage for an ex partner´s business.
Partner, as in significant other, not a "business" partner.
I want to know, what right do I ...
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Who owns the right of 'design tests'?
I'm a junior graphic designer with main focus on vector illustration and UI design.
I'm working in the industry professionally for 2 years now. And so new recruiters often give me design tests (even ...
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use of graphics stock icon (spoon,fork,skull head) for logo [duplicate]
I am a new graphics designer I want to use skull head, spoon icon, fork, etc in my logo from free stock but I don't know how to avoid copyright issue
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Resale of design to another client?
To preface, I'm an occasional freelancer (it's not my main income by far) and still fairly new to working with clients.
I created a business card design for a client and am showing this design on my ...
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How to mention the author of an artistic infographic?
I realized an "artistic page" for a social campaign which has been published on the webpage of an association.
The project was realized through Photoshop and Illustrator and what I gave to the ...
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I've used some vector elements from an online stock bank in 2 logos but completely redrawn them
And now I'm wondering what is legal and what isn't. I purchased the elements, used them for inspiration, but completely redrew them. I'm being told by the company that I would need to purchase the ...
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Who is the 'designer'
Last year, I approached a graphic design company with some of my own sketches and photos that I would like to be used in the design of some logos for my company branding. The designer uses my original ...
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Copyright Concerns... Similar Logo - Different Industries [duplicate]
I've been working on a logo for a local church and I finally created something their board agreed upon. But, when they asked me to do a copyright check I found ONE similar logo in particular that has ...
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Can I use a Freepik icon as my commercial mobile app icon?
I know Freepik icons may not be used as logo types, but logos and icons are two different things. I have a mobile app that I intend to sell, can I use an icon from Freepik and use it as the app icon?
...
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Free image for the "grab" cursor for IE11
I am looking at this question and its answers, and it seems the only legitimate way to implement a grab cursor in IE11 is to use an image like this:
cursor: url(images/grab.cur);
Browsing the ...
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Is it a copyright infringement [closed]
As I asked above .Is it a copyright infringement or not.
If it is ,what to change in order to make an original content.
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Copyright with my brand logo
I have recently hired a company to build my brands logo. I have chosen a historical soldier as my logo. It is a solid colour with minor detail. For inspiration I viewed accurate historic painting of ...
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