Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Nevada
tee shirt art
a manufacturer sells a tee shirt with art that they created to a customer.The art is not copyrighted or trademarked. The customer later asks a different manufacturer to recreat this art and tee shirt and sends them a purchase order.
Does the customer have the legal right to do this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: tee shirt art
On the plus side, the creator of the work owns copyright in the work even absent registering it with the U.S. Copyright Office. The actions by the purchaser in your fact scenario would constitute infringement of the copyright.
On the unfortunate side, since the infringement occurred before the creator registered the work, the remedies available are (i) injunction against further infringement, and (ii) actual damages in the form of lost sales or royalties; statutory damages and attorneys' fees are not available because the infringement antecedes the registration of the copyright.
Likely there are no trademark issues, but you might want to consult with an attorney on this point (facts were not sufficiently detailed for advice on this issue).
Best wishes,
LDWG
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