Ring Design

[Cehrabehra]

If you have a ring designed by a company, who owns the "rights" to that design? The jeweler? Can they just go and take your design and mass produce it? Obviously as we all digest flavors from others and create our own dreams, some gorgeous rings are being made. I''m just curious who owns the actual designs on those rings. I''m not talking about "signature" lines... I''m talking about me or you handing in a drawing or talking a designer through to our own ideal. Who owns that?

 

[Ellen]

Good question. I can''t answer you, but I''ll tell you my experience.

My husband and I had a neon sign made by our own design. Someone later told us they had been in the shop that made it, and they had an identical one to ours up for sale. They said that was illegal. I don''t know if it was or not, we never persued it. I was just kinda flattered the guy thought enough of our design to duplicate it.

But, it would be a different story with a ring...

 

[kcoursolle]

This is an interesting question, and I''m not sure if I''m right but this is a guess of mine. Someone please correct me if they know for sure. Since the design does not have a copyright, then I would think that anyone could reproduce it without permission.

 

[Gypsy]

My copyright class was so long ago so I can''t comment on the question ... but I can comment on n this statement, " Since the design does not have a copyright, then I would think that anyone could reproduce it without permission." If it''s anything like writing... you don''t need an actual copyright ... what I mean is... when you write something... say a book, even if you never send it in to the copyright office and apply for a copyright, it''s still copyrighted. Design may be like that... it may not be. Genuinely don''t know... I could research it... but it would be easier just to call a couple of jewelers and ask... like Quest, WF, and well... someone else.

 

[kcoursolle]

hmmm, good point Gypsy. Copying someones writing is plagiarism, I''m not sure if jewelry design is like that. For sure, I know that you can change anyone''s design a little bit (say 20% different) and still reproduce it, but I''m not sure about the exact design. Any experts want to chime in on this one?

 

[gemmy1]

I''m not an expert but I will chime in with my observations and conjecture. Copying jewelry designs is very very widespread. I imagine that it is not practical for designers to enforce their rights even if they have them, unless it is a blatant and largescale infringement.

It may be a little like the current problem the recording industry has. When it was just freinds sharing with other friends by copying records to tape or cd it was not considered a real problem. With internet file sharing capable of distributing EXACT copies of the material to millions of people worldwide it becomes feasible and necessary for owners to try to enforce property rights.

I think where jewelry designs are concerned, the use of the branded NAME in association with a knockoff is really where enforcement comes into play.

In fairness to custom jewelers it is really difficult if not impossible to know when a customer brings a drawing or idea, whether that exact style has ever been published. I would venture to guess that if a custom jeweler is instructed to make a piece in the "style " of designer xyz, even with photographs to guide them, that it would be very difficult for the designer to bring successful legal action. Now, if he makes a mold of the original piece and goes into production, particularly if he uses the designer name to promote it, then I think the designer has a very good chance to put a stop to it and perhaps to recover damages.

This is an important discussion and I would love to hear some other comments on this issue.

 

[mrssalvo]

this was in a old thread and thought it sums things up nicely:

captaubry wrote:

it's not ethical to steal someone else's ideas no matter how you rationalize it.

everyone has a price tag on their ethics. for some, it's the $18 they save on a pirated cd; for others it's the $2000 they save on a setting. but at least be honest enough to admit what you're doing. that money you've saved is money you've stolen from the person who owns the idea.

that said, most jewelry is not protected by copyright because you need a certain level of originality to qualify for copyright protection. it has to be a distinctive and original design--the average diamond setting isn't going to be enough. but it's also incorrect to say that it's not protected unless registered. if it qualifies for copyright protection, the protection exists at the moment of creation. and if you commission a close copy, you and the jeweler are guilty of infringment.

 

[gemmy1]

Date: 7/11/2006 10:40:57 AM
Author: mrssalvo
this was in a old thread and thought it sums things up nicely:

captaubry wrote:

it''s not ethical to steal someone else''s ideas no matter how you rationalize it.

I''m not sure the issue is that simple. Yes, we all navigate through life by our own moral compass, with laws (religious and civic) helping to define the outer boundaries. Yet, we absorb ideas from other people everyday and cobble them together and make them our own in many ways.

Let''s say you make your own clothes and you really like the look of a particular designer. Is it wrong to make something in the same style for yourself?

Or you are about to build your dream home and you spend time looking at alot of houses. You hire a custom builder and you say "I love the floor plan on this one, but give me the landscaping of this other one". To what extent are you "stealing" ideas versus simply identifying what you like and incorporating it into your life?

 

[mrssalvo]

I don''t have a problem with taking bits and pieces of different elements of things to create something you love. That''s what custom is all about IMO. As for who then owns the rights, the jeweler who made the piece or the person who took in the ideas and asked that they be combined, I have no clue.

i do think it is unethical, although not always illegal, to ask for a knockoff of a designer ring exactly as is, whether they try to pass it off as the original or not. Of course there are always those examples of ring designs that are "public domain" so to speak and would be hard to make a case. Just my opinion, others have no problem with it.