Another option that more clearly protects your designs for a useful object is a design patent.. Design patents are best suited for protecting the shape and appearance of useful objects such as perfume bottles bottles, furniture, cars, and appliances, which have designs that have commercial and economic value.' And while easier to apply for than a traditional patent, design patents are still difficult to obtain and expensive

Hi! As my previous post, I'm trying to understand a copyright or a patent...so at the time, what I did  I called the Copryright office and I explained what I'm doing...he said I can get a copyright of it for a design of a BAG ORGANIZER(thought it's a patent-after reading all the rules would take yrs and expensive), all I need to submit is the plan/drawing and photos to process. Now, I purchased the fabrics without realizing that some of the product I chose has  print on the side 'copyright by diff companies'. I stopped sewing and tried sending emails to the company. So far one company agreed that's it's ok to use all fabrics, one gave me the premission to use just the one I bought.          

Do you mean the trade-mark for the product or the brand? Copyright is for writings.

Are you sure the bag organizer has a copyright on it? Products are usually patented, not copyrighted, though the fabric design may be copyrighted. Copyrights refer to intellectual property; patents refer to products.

I think you need to undersrand what a copyright is to better understand the answer to your question. 'Copyright is the set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. These rights can be licensed, transferred and/or assigned. Copyright lasts for a certain time period after which the work is said to enter the public domain. Copyright applies to a wide range of works that are substantive and fixed in a medium. Some jurisdictions also recognize 'moral rights' of the creator of a work, such as the right to be credited for the work.' Now, I would honestly asked for written permission if the product is similar. Simply contact the corporate office of the company and speak with their legal department.

Hi! Thanks, everyone...as I've said before I just started doing as hobby and now I'll be selling my products through Etsy... so it's really a small online business.  It's a Travel, student, kids, make up,  Bag organizer. Now, my question is since the product has a copyright? Am I allowed to use a copyright fabric? Do I need to ask permission to use it? How will I know if the fabric design has a copyright on it.   Thanks and hoping to hear from you again.

Hi! Thanks, everyone...as I've said before I just started doing as hobby and now I'll be selling my products through Etsy... so it's really a small online business.  It's a Travel, student, kids, make up,  Bag organizer. Now, my question is since the product has a copyright? Am I allowed to use a copyright fabric? Do I need to ask permission to use it? How will I know if the fabric design has a copyright on it.   Thanks and hoping to hear from you again.

You need a patent.  You should follow the links in Christine's posting relevant to understanding the patent process.  Question:  is your product bringing in $10,000 or more per month?  If so, then you would want to file the patent asap.

Hi rickzel, Whether you need a patent or copyright dependds on what kind of product you are selling. Patents protect inventions, and improvements to existing inventions. Copyrights protect literary, artistic, and musical works. Learn more about intellectual property at Business.gov.

I would say what is the nature of your product. If your product is novel and different from other products, you can file for a patent. But if its just new type of work without a novel approach, copyright would be more appropriate. Also, copyright relates more to art, music, videos, and of course text and doesn't always work on actual products and vice versus.   If the two are available to your products, then consider the following:   For a patent, you must file a patent pending (cheap), and then after at most a year, claim your patent and write the entire patent description. For a copyright, you just need to submit (even not necessary) your work online (and pay some fee) to prove that you had it at that time (in case somebody else claim so after you).   But, a patent must be bulletproof for others not to be able to use it without infringing it and this is the problem with writing patents and why you almost always hire an attorney (~$5000). On the other hand, a copyright could be decided based on your work and the presumably infringed one. If they are close to one another, that's enough.   I, for instance, wrote a book for Senior Activites on how to use the Internet. Without the need to file anything, you can claim your copyright, as long as other people saw your product before somebody copied and infringed your rights.   But, even if you own copyrights or a patent, a person can still copy your work, even to some extent if not entirely. You can claim your patent / copyright in court in order to sue.   Ohad.