Marketing Monday: Copyrights

oblue

Last month there was a stir about Urban Outfitters stealing a design from an Etsy designer. While Regretsy may not be popular with everyone, the blog's author pointed out that the Etsy artist wasn't the first  to create the design in question in this post.

 

Marie Young designs

I also found a very informative article on Crafting an MBA that explains why "You can't copyright an idea and you can't copyright a useful object." The author, Megan Auman, starts out discussing the Urban Outfitters story and goes on to explain that the US government sees jewelry as a useful object and will not give it copyright protection.

 

Relogyyy

Do you make clothes? The government also sees clothing as a useful object and here's a great video on "how the lack of copyright and patent protection for clothing design has accelerated the creative pace of the fashion industry."

 

Autumn Olive

So what to do? I liked what Megan Auman had to say about it: "Your biggest concern shouldn't be getting your ideas stolen, it should be obscurity." and "If you're really concerned about being copied, the best thing you can do is be innovative."

 

 cincincreations

Marketing Monday: Living In A Fishbowl Part II

 

Chaos Supplies 

Last week there was a bit of press about online magazines. Here's the article that started it in the NY Times: The Thriving [Online] Shelter Magazine Industry. And here's Grace Bonney's response on Design Sponge: Design Online: A Response to the NY Times Story On Online Magazines. I wanted to focus on Grace's last point, "Younger women, as content producers and business owners, need to take greater control over how we are presented and how we present ourselves."Most sellers on Etsy are young women, content producers and business owners. Just last week I talked about how we "live in a fishbowl." Everything you say and do relates back to your business, and how you and your product is perceived. Mom was right, darn it. Not only do you have to remember to mind your P's and Q's, you need to remember to think before you speak. And if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.