When creating your own custom t-shirts you have an endless amount of designs to choose from but if you don’t choose carefully, you could actually be breaking copyright law. So, how do you know if you can use a specific design? Well, there are things to look out for, and we will discuss them below.
Original Ideas
You are never going to get in trouble with copyright laws if you come up with an original idea. If you design something that is uniquely your own and is not based on anything, then you can be comfortable knowing that you are not going to run into any type of copyright or trademark issue.
Copyright or trademark
Many people tend to think that these two terms are the same, but they aren’t. While a Trademark refers to words, symbols, and names, copyright protects original creative works. This can include things such as movies, paintings, choreographies and many more. This means that things like song lyrics on a t-shirt are a copyright violation if you do not own the song.
Know what you can and can’t do
When designing a custom t-shirt, it is always important to be aware of the status of the design you want to use if it is not your own. You can use flags, national symbols and any coat of arms as these are not covered by copyright laws. Using famous photographs can be a breach of copyright law unless you have permission from the owner of the photograph or pay for the rights to use it.
When does copyright infringement occur?
Copyright infringement will occur if you have taken someone’s work or something that is substantially similar without permission. Your design would have to be significantly similar from the original work for there to be a copyright infringement.
PrintLocker has a range of designs that you can use on your custom t-shirt without having to worry about breaching copyright law. You can also upload your own designs to print onto a t-shirt. Contact us to learn more about designing your own custom t-shirts today!
