Fair success at the Market

You never can tell when you'll sell.

My village is a busy little place in the summer. It's busy in the winter, too, but it's a less-open, less public sort of busy-ness.

Spring Bank Holiday weekend marks the beginning of our outdoor, summer 'busy-ness'. We have a Village Market, at which I was persuaded, against my better judgement (or so I thought at the time) to have a stall - only £5 for village residents, so I looked upon it as my contribution to the village amenity fund. I nearly couldn't be bothered to go, but the organiser knocked on my door the night before to check up on me, and threatened to come round at 8 in the morning, too, so I had to ...

I knew I wouldn't do well, as anyone and everyone local is welcome at the market - car booters, charities, businesses, organisations - as long as they're within a certain geographical area they're welcome to sell whatever they want. The Avon Ladies of every surrounding village were present - an entire tribe of them! - and a pickle manufacturer who rents a production unit up the road was there, as was the Farmhouse Jam lady who really does work from her farmhouse. Not much call for hand-made domesticalia at premium prices, I thought.

So I'd made nothing special or new; as I've done very few fairs so far this year I merely dug out some unsold stock - half-a dozen cushions, half a dozen aprons, half a dozen strings of floral bunting, half a dozen strings of 'boy bunting' (pirates, cars and Manchester United - two of each) and two corset-clad dummies, one large and one small, whose main purpose is display and the attraction of customers from afar, not for selling. I'd not even been to the bank for a float, either, so I hurriedly altered all my prices to multiples of 5 - which made the cushions and aprons expensive and the bunting cheap. I really wasn't bothered, though. Why should I be? I just knew I wasn't going to sell anything much at all.

I trundled my trolley all of 100m down the road - and was passed by a swerving tractor, driven by a farming acquaintance whose eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw how my dummies were clad! - to the market, and found myself placed between the pickle man and a retro jewellery maker, opposite the nursery school's nearly-new soft toy stall, Help the Heroes and the Allotment Society.

Everything literally pegged-down on a windy day

Within three hours, standing there in the cold wind, I'd sold all the cushions, five out of the six aprons, all the boys bunting and half of the floral bunting. I also took orders for two more cushions (to match a pair already bought) and two more strings of boy's bunting. The dummies had to be put away under the table, as the wind was so strong it blew them right off. It wasn't a venue for corsets anyway, but let's be honest, there aren't that many outdoor venues which are!

There were plenty of buyers, including lots of British Asians - probably from the neighbouring East Lancashire towns - and the Allotment Society was doing a roaring trade with the Asian ladies buying boxes of bedding plants.  Here in this rural neck of the woods we are a surprisingly homogeneous bunch of white Anglo-Saxons and Celts, and see very few people from ethnic minorities, except for our bus drivers and my best friend Elena who is black South African and visits at least once a week,  so the Allotment Society members - every last one of them over the age of 85 it seems - looked a bit flustered as they were surrounded by billowing saris and dupattas, vying with the flowers for colour.

It wasn't supposed to rain until 2pm or so, but the first spots started coming down an hour earlier.  Ten minutes later, it was fairly pelting down, but by then I'd packed up everything but my table and was sheltering under the pickle man's gazebo. The pickle man very cruelly (to his son) and very kindly (to me) sent his son to unscrew and fold my table, and a few minutes later, the rain having lessened a little, I trundled up the road, far less burdened than when I'd trundled down it earlier in the day.

Warning - a rant!

Guess what? 

Copyright and design right are not the same!

 Whoda thunk it eh?

For my sins, I'm a regular contributor to a certain UK-based crafts forum.
There are endless, often-ridiculous discussions and questions about copyright, design right and other forms of IP.  Some aspects of IP law are, to say the least, fluid, as it is a growing and fast-flowing area of law. However, some aspects of it are stable, have remained stable and will remain stable. Copyright is automatic, free and lasts for many years in all forms of publication or broadcast. Design Right is also automatic and free, but doesn't last for as long. No one can protect a mere idea or concept, and to gain protection, a 'work' must have a high degree of originality. 

It is really not at all difficult to understand the four basic types of protection available for what is known as Intellectual Property, and the types of work to which they apply. However, some people seem to have brains made of barium concrete ...

A recent example started with a member who was genuinely ignorant of such matters, and concerned because someone had accused her of 'breaching copyright' - apparently some of the member's designs were similar to those of the accuser's. The design being referred to was a wooden plaque which is commercially available and is decorated with commercially-available transfers and stylised, generic designs. 

It was perfectly clear that the accuser did not know what s/he was talking about, as s/he was referring to 'copyright' and not 'design right', although in relation to the plaque, not to any wording or illustration thereon.

A brief discussion ensued; links to the plaques were provided. Some sensible and pertinent advice was given, together with a brief explanation of the different types of IP, and links to authoritative sites were posted . The member who originally posed the question was reassured that she was not, in fact, in breach of anything at all. 

Then the odd-bods started coming out of the woodwork with their bizarre  claims about IP law in the UK, and even opinions based on foreign laws  from far-off lands. 

It's an indication of intellectual laziness and lack of curiosity about the world which I fear affects all too many people. It also demonstrates a profound and disturbing arrogance when people prefer to disseminate their misguided opinions as if they were fact, despite being provided with clear and indisputable evidence to the contrary.

My cat has more common-sense than that. No wonder I prefer my cat to a great many people ...

End of rant!

Absence and catch-up

I've been away. Nowhere  exotic - just away from my blog, I didn't have internet access for a few weeks - that's what happens sometimes when you live in the sticks - so I got out of the habit of blogging (not that I've ever really got into it). 

Well, I'm back, and I need to sum up the relevance of the two preceding posts about IP to UK crafters.

First of all, the good news – you have a considerable degree of free and automatic protection for your work, be it 2D or 3D, as long as it is original. Copyright and design right both come into play automatically and work in your favour.

HOWEVER, the emphasis is, quite rightly, on originality.

You do not have protection for your work from either copyright or design right if it is not original, and design right offers no protection for a 3-d article which is 'commonplace, everyday or ordinary'.

If an item is 'commonplace, everyday or ordinary' it cannot, by definition, be original.

In other words, you'd better be very sure indeed of your having something really original and 'different' before you try to stop other people making something similar – whether from a pattern you've published or not. Anyway, isn't imitation the sincerest form of flattery?

Much better-informed minds than mine have debated at length in courts of law, and elsewhere, as to whether the use of a pattern -without specific permission to do so - for the production of items for sale is permissible or not. Consensus seems to be that it might be, or it might not be. Helpful, no?

There are  endless debates on t'internet regarding 'originality'. It is perfectly acceptable – indeed common practice and considered polite – to acknowledge that inspiration from a designer or a specific design has been the foundation of your design. 

So, some people ask, if they change an existing pattern so the finished item is not the same, how much do they have to change for it to be considered 'original' and hence 'their own work' ?

If someone (you?) is capable of changing a pattern or plan sufficiently that it results in a different design, you are surely capable of making your own pattern or template after looking at the design you like instead of blatantly copying!

As ever, I am not a lawyer nor do I pretend to be one. If you have queries, contact a suitably qualified person and/or do your own research. I am in the UK and my posts can only be considered relevant only to the law in England and Wales.

A Crafter's Guide to Intellectual Property part 2

Continuing from the last post, which covered copyright and design.

Patents

A patent protects a new invention – either a product or a process – which has some use. As well as being both new and useful, the product or process must be original to the extent that it must contain an inventive step which is not obvious, even to a person with knowledge and experience in the subject with which the invention deals or is involved.

There is also a range of inventions which cannot be patented, from mathematical or scientific theories, to breeds of animals and anything 'against public policy or morality' – the full list is available here on the IPO's website. 

The application process for a patent can be lengthy, costly and time-consuming. Fees to the IPO range from £230 upwards and patent lawyers are among the highest paid in a high paid profession.

Trademarks

A trademark (often referred to as a brand) is a distinctive sign which distinguishes your goods and services from those of your competitors. It can be words, logos or a combination of both. 

There are strict rules about what is and what is not considered an acceptable trademark – some of the rules are obvious, some not so obvious. 

The IPO has all the information – see here  and here. 

The only way to register your trade mark is to apply to the Intellectual Property Office, and to renew the registration periodically. An application for trademark registration starts at £170.

The above information is relevant to the UK only. I am not a lawyer, nor do I pretend to be one on the internet. If you need legal advice, ask a lawyer. If you want to know more about IP, read the wealth of information on ipo.gov.uk

A Crafter's Guide to Intellectual Property

How often have you heard someone say, about the cushion they've just made, 'Oh, I'm going to patent this squirrel design  - it's my intellectual property so you're not allowed to copy it' ?

Or about the idea they've had for a new way of running a profitable craft fair - 'I'm going to register it as copyright! It's my idea so I own it!'?

And how often have you thought 'Hmmm, I wonder if they can ...'? Or even 'I wonder how they can ...?'

The answer to those specific examples above is, no they can't.  At the very least,  they've got things very mixed up.

So what is intellectual property?

It is the expression of an idea. It could be a new technology, a song, a book, an invention, a painting or anything else created by the mind. 

It can be owned, bought and sold in the same way as any other property, and IP law enables you to protect your rights to your property, just as other laws help protect the other types of property you own.

In order to be protected, it must be expressed. 

There is no protection for an idea or a concept. The craft fair idea is just that - an idea, nothing more - and so there is nothing to protect until it is expressed in some way.

It must also be new and original. Remember that word – original. The cushion design is a squirrel. A cushion is not original; a design of a squirrel is unlikely to be original. 

There are four main types of IP protection in law; copyright and design are the ones most likely to be of interest to the crafter.

Copyright 

Copyright is free of charge and automatic. It is the most widely-known and recognised type of IP protection, and I dealt with it fairly thoroughly in my last-but-one post. As ever, if you want to know more, or check the legality or accuracy of anything I say, explore ipo.gov.uk

Design 

Design right protects the way something looks. 

There are two types of legal protection for designs.

UK design right is free and automatic. 

A Registered Design offers a greater level of protection; you must apply for it and pay a fee. 

Not all designs qualify for protection; anything that is commonplace, everyday or ordinary will not qualify; a significant degree of originality is required for a design to be protected. 

Some aspects of a design might not qualify for protection under this section of IP law. For instance, under automatic UK design right, surface ornamentation and other two-dimensional designs are excluded from design protection - although copyright law may come into play here, and protect the 2-d graphics.  A registered design excludes features dictated by technical function.

EU- wide protection is offered for both automatic design right and registered designs, under similar conditions to that of the UK. The IPO has an excellent table - which will help designers to decide what levels of protection are appropriate - on this page (scroll down a little way). 

Patents and trademarks to follow later.

Just to repeat - I am not a lawyer, I do not pretend to be a lawyer. If you want legal advice, ask a lawyer, and if you want to read the law on IP for yourself, there's a very good website I reference continually - ipo.gov.uk

Warning to creative makers and sellers

Warning - scammers at work!

I was going to post today about different types of 'rights' which might be relevant to the crafter, but I think that what I have just come across on the official IPO website is far more important.

See here: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/warning.htm

Misleading mock invoicing – letters which look 'official'. Even received by the IPO itself! 

BEWARE of such attempted scams and don't respond to them.

The forms you might need to register a design, file a patent application or register a trademark, and the official fees you might need to pay, are all clearly linked on www.ipo.gov.uk

You do not need to do anything or pay anything to anyone to hold copyright OR design right on an original work of your own. Whatever anyone might try to tell you.

Confusion on the Web

Crafting and Copyright in the UK

Part 1.

There's a lot of confusion out there in the crafting world as regards 'rights' - copyright, design right, trademark, patents ... in other words, all sorts of intellectual property rights.

Some of the information found on forums and the like is downright wrong, most is misleading and much is confusing. 

It is important to be aware that copyright law depends - it depends very largely on what country you are in, whether you are the copyright holder or not.   

What I write here is relevant to you if you are in the UK and the UK only.

If you are in Britain, whatever you read on an American (or Australian, or New Zealand, or even Ruritanian)  forum or blog about copyright or intellectual property rights might not - probably does not - apply to you - and vice versa, regardless of where the copyright work being discussed was first published.

First of all, and let's get this very clear, the word is 'copyright' not 'copywrite'. It's about rights - not about 'writing'. Well, it is about writing - and drawing, painting, composing ... about the rights which are held over such works.

Secondly, contrary to many statements I have read on t'internet, you don't need to actually do anything to obtain copyright on your own original, creative work - it's automatic. Anyone who tells you that you can register your copyright with them for only £X is doing nothing more than taking £X from you under false pretences - which is commonly known, in my neck of the woods at least, as 'theft'.

The international law covering copyright is known as the Berne Convention (its full title is actually 'The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works') and it dates from 1886. The UK signed it in 1887 (but didn't implement parts of it for some years); the US not until 1989! Almost all countries in the world (165 or so of them at last count) are signatories to the Convention.

Tomorrow - the differences between copyright, design right, trademark, patent and branding.

Any questions so far?


Please note that I am not a lawyer, nor do I pretend to be one on the internet. I am simply well-educated, with plenty of time, the ability to sift the chaff from the corn and I can access resources of all sorts.