Copyrights?

[Angie]

We are having a water cooler discussion and I figured I would get some outside input. If a customer supplies a file and has used copyrighted logos, photos, etc. is it the printers responsibility to make sure their customer has permission to use these items? Can the printer be sued for infringement even though they are an innocent 3rd party? Isn't it amazing the conversations that come up in the course of the day as printers

 

[gordo]

If you go to a photo booth to print out some photos from your USB stick you have to state that you have the rights to the images that you will be printing prior to ordering the prints.

Maybe it's a good idea to include such a waiver in your quotes because I believe that you can be held liable.

Best gordo

 

[airyk]

I refused to work on a job we had in the shop once that the client wanted a SI Cover scanned to use in print. I explained myself to the Prez of the company about it, and he actually wound up refusing to do the job for the client.

 

[JLRobertson]

I have refused jobs because the client used stock comps in the final rather than buying the rights. "We will be SO exposed," I said to my boss, he agreed, the client took their work elsewhere.

 

[kristie]

Having worked with Copyright Clearance in the past, you can be held liable (at least in California) for using copyrighted images/logo's etc. It is your clients responsibility to give you a release form from the copyright holder, that you should make a copy of and keep on file. As long as you accepted that in good faith, you are protected.

 

[oxburger]

It's amazing to me to see the amount of printed material that use images pulled down from the internet. Especially photos you know are copyrighted (celebs photos, logos, etc.).

 

[arossetti]

It's amazing to me to see the amount of printed material that use images pulled down from the internet. Especially photos you know are copyrighted (celebs photos, logos, etc.).

Is that tongue in cheek?

 

[chevalier]

The worse for this is during election season when every democrat running for office tries to get you to put union seals on printwork generated at nonunion facilities.

 

[onwsk8r]

Ya know... I work at a shop that's licensed by a major university and we run into this problem constantly.

Yes, your shop is liable if you print something copyrighted because you are "responsible" for what you print. It doesn't matter whether it's a logo, slogan, photo, or money (here in the US) - if the customer does not own the rights to what they are printing, you cannot print it.
Also, if you are licensed to print something that's copyrighted - say a logo - and use it in your artwork, etc, it can only be used in YOUR artwork; I can't use it in MY artwork and then have you print it.
It's important to determine what is copyrighted as well: it's obscene just how much stuff is actually protected by copyright. Of course we all know that if I take a photo and put it on Facebook, technically I own the rights to it, but it's gone WAY beyond that - to the point that I'm being intentionally vague about it because I can't say with certainty that I know what all is copyrighted

Edit: didn't realize I was digging up an old-ish thread - my bad!

 

[Happyprinter]

We do not run copyrighted material unless we have a signed release, period! Have lost a few customers over the years but, I also know for a fact that we have been checked by a few companies to see if we would copy their copyrighted graduation photos in the past. Be careful!

 

[Stephen Marsh]

It's amazing to me to see the amount of printed material that use images pulled down from the internet. Especially photos you know are copyrighted (celebs photos, logos, etc.).

Is that tongue in cheek?

Haha... Lucky that it is only an internet board avatar celeb photo and not printed material!


Stephen Marsh

 

[Steve_S]

We post signs in our customer service areas - "Please do not ask our employees to reproduce copyrighted work without written permission." People still ask and we still refuse. If you don't think it is taken seriously, just ask Kinko's how tasty that half million dollar pill was to swallow back in the day....

 

[JTFLO]

I suppose I haven't given it as much thought as I should have over the years. It doesn't seem like it should be the printers responsibility to make sure the customer isn't infringing someone's copywrite. What should we do check each image we print with the copywrite office? How are we supposed to get any work done? lol In any other situation it would be the customers responsibility.

 

[[email protected]]

If you buy a copyrighted work you are allowed to make one legal backup copy. I would suppose then that if the original was presented to you by someone and they owned it; I wouldn't see a violation of copyright law.

Kinkos was apparently taking portions of books and copying them and reselling the copies to university students. That would have been an obvious don't do it scenario for me.

I noticed that some of the copied works were out of print. I personally believe that at a minimum if you own a patent or copyright but have no intention or no apparent intention of creating more of the item to sell; then you have no right to be afforded protections since you apparently don't want to make any more monopoly profits off of said item.

At best, our government shouldn't be in the business of protecting copyrights or patents. There's more important things our country's finances could be used on instead of making sure some hoo haws love song or movie doesn't get illegally downloaded, or copied, etc.; or making sure some billion dollar pharma company's "new" version of a drug (that probably has just changed the bonding molecules from the old one) is not able to be generically produced so a pill that should be a nickel is over a hundred dollars.


Here's a link to the Kinko suit: - Google Scholar

We post signs in our customer service areas - "Please do not ask our employees to reproduce copyrighted work without written permission." People still ask and we still refuse. If you don't think it is taken seriously, just ask Kinko's how tasty that half million dollar pill was to swallow back in the day....