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You are here: Experts > Business > Corporate Law > Copyright & Patents > Label Copyright Question
Expert: Shannon Moore - 10/21/2009
Question
I'm a specialty label distributor and have customers who have certain requirements regarding the layout of their labels. Is it possible to Copyright the design or layout of a particular label? Is it possible for someone to make a minor change in my design and not be liable for Copyright infringement? See the example image.
Thank you.
Answer
Dear Don,
Yes, you can file for a copyright as labels are considered to be in the realm of Visual Arts. Here's some more information:
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl115.html -- Copyright Registration of Visual Arts
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ40.pdf -- PDF with further details
http://www.copyright.gov/eco/ -- Online Registration ($35 each)
To your second question, here's what the US Copyright Office has to say:
"Only the owner of copyright in a work has the right to prepare, or to authorize someone else to create, a new version of that work. Accordingly, you cannot claim copyright to another's work, no matter how much you change it, unless you have the owner's consent."
Hope this helps! Please let me know if I can assist you with any other questions.
Warmest regards,
Shannon Moore
http://www.tmexpress.com
http://tmexpress.blogspot.com
Twitter @TradeMarkExpres
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