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Understanding what protects the intellectual property created by artists is essential because intellectual property comes from a person’s ideas or intellect. In simple terms, it is the result of an individual’s intellectual efforts.
Intellectual property includes creations such as innovations, industrial product designs, literary works, artistic works, and business-related symbols.
As an artist or designer, you should know the two key forms of intellectual property (IP) rights: copyright and Industrial design.
Your designs and creative work must be protected by the right intellectual property rights (IPR) because they form the core of your creative practice.
In this article, we will examine Copyright and Design Rights, two major forms of IPR. This understanding will help you know the scope of each and take the right steps to protect your creative work.
Copyright Protection for Artistic Works
Copyright laws protect the expression of creative ideas and not just the idea. Further, the Copyright protects the following types of original artwork.
1. a collage, sculpture, photograph, or graphic work;
2. a building or model of a building that is an architectural work; or
3. an article made with artistic skill.
It’s important to understand that while copyright law allows you to protect your design, it does not cover the article’s utilitarian aspect.
For instance, one can get the Copyright to a unique print they make for a piece of clothing. Nonetheless, the dress on which the printing was done will not be protected by Copyright.
Fashion designers can safeguard their designs for up to 15 years by taking the Copyright law into account under the Designs Act of 2000. However, suppose the designer chooses only to follow Section 15 of the copyright registration procedures and implements this registration for his use. In that case, the designer will be able to benefit only from design protection up to the article’s 50th reproduction.
Therefore, it is advised that fashion designers register their artwork following the rules of the Designs and Copyright law. This means protecting significant rights to their original works.
When Does Industrial Design Protection Apply?
The Designs Act, introduced in 2000, allowed the Government of India to safeguard creative works that have non-functional features.
Industrial design patents give the person exclusive rights for a new ornamental design of an essential functional item.
For example, as mentioned earlier, copyright does not extend to the cloth itself. However, if the fabric carries an innovative and unique design that differs from any existing style, the creator can apply for a design patent to protect that design.
Unlike copyright, a registered design grants the proprietor the exclusive right to create and use that design. This right also allows the owner to sue anyone who infringes the design, even when the infringer has not copied it directly.
Further, Section 11 states that the copyright in a registered design lasts for ten years from the date of registration. This term may be extended for an additional five years. Hence, the maximum period of protection available for design patents is fifteen years.
What Protects the Intellectual Property Created by Artists?
Copyright vs Industrial Design: What’s the Difference?
It is important to note that, even though efforts have been made to clearly distinguish the rights available under the Designs Act and the Copyright Act, the similarity in the types of works protected under these laws often creates confusion. Because of this overlap, there have been many instances where proprietors themselves were unsure about which form of protection they should seek for safeguarding their artistic works.
| DESIGNS ACT, 2000 | COPYRIGHT ACT, 1957 |
| Protection of a design–Maximum 15 years | Protection of an Artistic Work–The lifetime of the creator + 60 years after his death. |
| Registration–Mandatory under the law to get protection | Registration–Not Mandatory.Design capable of being registered under Designs law but not so registered also gets protection under Copyright. |
How Do these Industrial Design Rights benefit you?
To protect original ideas:
When someone comes up with a unique concept, others try to copy it for their financial gain. Therefore, it is essential to safeguard the IP assets before any third party breaches them illegally.
Rights Conferred on Owner:
The copyright owner of a piece of artwork has the exclusive right to make copies, sell or distribute copies, prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted artwork, and publicly display the artwork.
Selling designs:
If a company cannot profit directly from the design developed, it can sell it to third parties and make a profit from its design capabilities.
Creative Ideas into Profitable Assets:
Intellectual property rights reward entrepreneurs and foster innovation. Ideas typically don’t have much value on their own. Intellectual property rights have a vast unmet potential to turn original ideas into profitable businesses in the modern day. You may use intellectual property registration to help you transform concepts into widely successful goods and services.
Easing the Marketing Process:
Developing brand awareness for your company requires using intellectual property. Your ability to identify your goods and services from those of other sellers and to advertise them to the right customers can be helped by intellectual property.
Artists or designers invest a lot of skill and creativity to make their work distinctive. Even if it might be difficult, ending every duplication of one’s art is not entirely impossible. This comprises:
1) Employing the © symbol on your artworks such as paintings, drawings, sculptures, etc.
2) One should register their art Under Copyright, which is soundproof of the date of creation of the art.
c) Applying for a design registration for ornamental aspects of a product with utility.
d) Taking legal action when an artist’s IPRs or moral rights are violated.
The IP laws outlined above will not only protect a person’s work once it is created but also help safeguard it throughout the design phase of the product. From this, we can conclude that artists should register artistic works applied to an article by an industrial process under the Designs Act to receive full protection. However, if the design is not registered, the copyright in such registrable designs will cease once the design has been reproduced more than 50 times.