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How can you protect your work?

I was a panellist at Designer Breakfasts on Tuesday and of course recognise this article is just scratching the surface. On Tuesday I pointed to a number of routes available to designers in the hope of stimulating discussion in the industry. IP is still unfortunately not as high on many designers’ priorities as it should be. Also on Tuesday I acknowledged the difficulty with NDAs, but explained that a designer can create a confidential relationship in other ways, for example by making it clear in his presentation that the work cannot be exploited commercially, and by making the same thing clear on any materials. This can be a far more palatable way of imposing confidentiality. Maxine’s comments are interesting but, on copyright at least, not entirely accurate; an idea per se is not protectable, however once recorded it may be. This was my starting point on Tuesday. I also note that the ACID IP Tracker and the Creative Bar Codes are useful developments but they too have their limitations; for example the Creative Bar Codes are still dependant on a legally binding agreement. Every designer should understand the tools available to them. In many cases the best solution will be to employ a combination of these tools; it would be too simplistic to describe any one of them as a complete solution. I agree with Paul that this is a big issue and that more needs to be done. We should act together to keep IP issues such as these on the agenda, make sure designers understand their options and where they can go for advice and assistance. Perhaps, as Susan Griggs suggested on Tuesday, designers should follow other creative industries by having an industry standard and practice for dealing with IP issues…

Thu, 21 Jun 2012

3:48 pm