Design Wales discusses the recent Barbie v Bratz case

Although this IP news item is a month old now, it’s such a good story from an IP ownership and employment contract perspective that we had to include it.

Most designers are aware that the work they create during the course of employment usually belongs to their employer; but what about the designs they create in their own time? Can their employer also claim ownership of these works? A Californian court hearing the Barbie (Mattel, Inc.) v Bratz (MGA Entertainment, Inc.) case believed that this is exactly what an employer could do.

Mattel ex-employee Carter Bryant claimed he created the Bratz doll whilst on a leave of absence from the toy giant. Bryant briefly returned to Mattel after this break, eventually leaving to go and work for MGA. Shortly after starting his employment there, MGA launched the Bratz range of dolls. Mattel took umbrage at this, insisting that Bryant was still an employee of Mattel when he created the drawings for the Bratz dolls. Mattel consequently initiated legal proceedings against both Bryant and MGA for breach of contract and copyright infringement.

Although it was a victory for Mattel, the case was not as straightforward as it first appeared. As reported by LexisNexis, Bryant was still under contract when he created the drawings of the Bratz dolls, even though he was on leave of absence. It also appears that he deleted computer files before submitting the computer as evidence.

From an employer’s perspective this is an interesting case because it emphasises the importance of including IP clauses in contracts.

The BBC’s report on the case can be found here.

Star Wars - Design Wales highlights the problems of relying on copyright to protect designs

We’re often asked how designs can be protected; unfortunately the answer to such a pertinent question is not always straightforward. A common misconception is that all designs can be protected by copyright; this isn’t the case as the recent Lucasfilm v Andrew Ainsworth case illustrates.

Andrew Ainsworth a prop designer based in Twickenham, was said to have infringed the copyright of Lucasfilm by selling replicas of the Imperial Stormtroopers’ armour and helmet. Ainsworth, who was commissioned by Lucasfilm to create the armour and helmet for the initial Star Wars film released in 1977, used the original moulds to make the alleged infringing articles. By making a replica of the helmet, Lucasfilm claimed that Ainsworth had infringed the copyright in the design drawings of the helmet. The judge hearing the case disagreed, explaining that if the helmet was to be protected by copyright, it would have to be regarded as a sculpture or a work of artistic craftsmanship and not as an artistic work which the design drawings would be considered as. The judge concluded that since the helmet was a prop, it could not be regarded as a sculpture or a work of artistic craftsmanship, ruling that copyright had not been infringed.

Admittedly this is a complicated case, but if there is a moral to this tale it is this - before taking legal action against a third party that you feel has infringed the copyright in your designs, make sure that copyright subsists; otherwise it could be a very expensive lesson in copyright law.

Design Wales Discusses the Olympic Torch

The Olympic torch has caused much controversy during its journey in 2008. Named the 'Cloud of Promise', this year's torch was created by Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo.

Symbolic of freedom, youth and unity, the Olympic torch has had many redesigns over the years, testing creative prowess in the way the games test physical prowess...
www.nytimes.com

Confirmed! Design Wales Will Present Blair Enns in October

Design Wales have confirmed that Blair Enns founder of the Win Without Pitching movement will be giving a speech in Cardiff on the 17th of October. Having previously seen Blair present we know how inspiring and insightful he is!

Places for the Blair's talk will be on a first come first served basis and restricted to two places per company. The event is open to Welsh design businesses only.

Design Wales represented at the 2008 Design Research Society Conference

Design Wales researcher Gisele Raulik-Murphy attended the “Undisciplined! - the Design Research Society Conference", from 16 to 19 July in Sheffield. This biennial event is the main conference for design academics. This year “Rigour in emerging design disciplines and professions” was chosen as the conference theme. The objective was to discuss the new kinds of “designing” that have been emerging to challenge the traditional design professional profile and reshape the field of design practice.

Gisele presented the paper “A comparative analysis of strategies for design in Finland and Brazil”, emphasising ‘design policy’ as a new discipline for design research. The paper was co-authored with Gavin Cawood from Design Wales; Dr Povl Larsen and Professor Alan Lewis, from PDR.

Product design edition of ‘Design Matters’ launched by Design Wales

In July Design Wales presents a special edition about product development. As well as stories from the mountaineering equipment producer DMM and the boatbuilding company Mustang Marine it also shows that there can be risk in launching new products and how it is crucial to make sure that products are aimed at the right market. Issues related to risk management and sustainable design are also explored in this on-line magazine.

Download the Design Matters: http://www.designwales.org/

Design Wales and intellectual property

Who owns the designs you’ve been commissioned to create? What are the pitfalls of selling goods bearing your brand name outside the UK? At Design Wales we are often asked these questions and as you would expect the answers can be quite complex.

Although this blog will focus primarily on design, we will also include design related intellectual property (IP) items that we find interesting/useful. The inaugural IP entry concerns IP courses, specifically the online IP course offered by the British Library. It focuses on trade marks, copyright, registered designs and patents - what they are, how to claim ownership, how to carry out searches, etc.

We are often asked if any distance learning IP courses exist that could provide a basic overview of IP; hopefully this offering from the British Library will appeal to many people.