Copy Rights, Intellectual Property Safe Guarding and Why NDA's are needed within the Industry
Art is born from art, and history can repeat itself wearing a different coat, but most artists tend to freely express and share who and what drove them to create their projects. When something is sold as a person’s own work when it is not and the ‘inspiration’ for the piece is hidden, this tends to suggest an intended dishonest use.
There are several different methods for protecting intellectual property, such as trademarks, patents, NDAs and copyrights. The aim behind every case in court that is trying to prove that they own the rights to a concept, whatever the medium, lies behind the motif of ‘’who has the most solid proof that they did it first.’’ In terms of copyrighting, one’s own work happens as soon as you create the piece, it is only a matter of providing evidence to prove that you were the one to record the concept first. Copyrights do possess a lifespan of only 70 years for artistic written or drawn work, same would apply for films but published written or dramatic or musical works only have a lifespan of 25 years.
If you wanted to reference or use anyone else’s work, you would have to ask the creator for permission most of the time. In most cases, the best modern format would be email, or to get them to sign a contract that states that you have permission to use their work. This is mostly recurring for the use of images and fonts for graphic designers, some creators will allow their work to be used and state that it can be downloaded and used for the public, others request payment first and some only state that their work can be used for ‘personal use’ meaning it cannot publish to the public. This stems from licensing, and what or how the artist has created their license attached to their work. In the world of videography, there is a way to use other’s productions but underneath certain guidelines. For example, if someone wanted to create a video critiquing another video, the 2nd party would have to stop the clip every couple of seconds, or only show a video under 30 seconds before they have breached the copyright.
To protect one’s work, it is always best to date and sign any piece that they have created, or give out low resolution copies of any images, or to leave a type of trademark print on their work that is traceable to the artist/ artist’s brand. Trade marking your brand requires you to register your brand, this would allow you to put a ® symbol next to your brand’s logo and would warn others to refrain from using your brand’s work for unwarranted use.
You could also watermark images, so they cannot be shared without there being some notification of you, the artist. The best method is to always save any first drafts of your work, as the files would state the date and time it was created, and that would be used as sufficient evidence in court. If you were to continue to edit work, without saving the initial first draft on a separate file, the date will change every time the piece is edited, meaning if someone were to steal your work it would look as though you created the piece much later then you had and others could claim it as their own first.
For designers applying for jobs, it is particularly important that they mention before showing companies their portfolios (again, in an email would suffice) that they cannot use or show their portfolio without their permission.
One way you can share work/projects with other creators without the fear of it being stolen is by getting the other party to sign an NDA, a ‘non-disclosure agreement. This prevents projects being used by competitors. If someone signed an NDA and went against the contract and word went out about the subject in question, that would be a breach of contract, and the first party would have the right to sue them in court. This is meant to create trust between the client and the designers when working on projects together and help stop the ability for other competitors to patent the work in question.
Patenting is another technique that protects areas of intellectual property that fall under any kind of physical inventions, for example blueprints, designer sheets or products. This kind of licensing tends to have a lifeline of 20 years.
If you are a creator working in areas such as free lease work, you would have to be careful about the style you use and how to offer it to clients and such. For example, website creators would suffer because they cannot redo that style to another client. It is always best to state what you are willing to give clients to claim as their own or if you want them to include yourself in the accreditation.
The way that I would unify these legal frameworks into my own professional journey is by making sure that there is proof of that my design is my own intellectual property. This is by always saving the first drafts on my computer, and keeping/dating any sketches I have created. Doing this would ensure evidence to help support myself in legal action if a malicious act had taken place against my work.
When approaching any job opportunities, I tend to state in emails (anything that could be recorded) that before sharing my work it has a direct statement saying ‘work within this portfolio is original and is protected by copyright, this is only shared for viewing only and may not be reproduced or used without permission’. If they agree to respect that statement, I would then proceed to showing my portfolio. Another way is putting ‘© Emily Tekin 2025, All rights reserved.’
Another legal framework to consider when design specifically for web design, is being able to protect user’s data under UK GDPR. Meaning you must allow users to opt-out of their cookies being recorded and sold to third party members. Although that framework applies more towards front and back-end developers, graphic designers sometimes maybe involved in occasion, as you still are helping to construct visual representations of work on digital platforms.
Works Cited
Eye, Graphic Design. “What Is a Services Non Disclosure Agreement?” Graphic Design Eye, 16 Jan. 2022, graphicdesigneye.com/what-is-a-non-disclosure-agreement/?srsltid=AfmBOooQ6qEbbWwqP0jJ72ggsVhMlXdoaQ5EUnTWkZaPF4D50qIL0cSd. Accessed 25 Oct. 2024.
GOV.UK. “Intellectual Property: Trade Marks.” GOV.UK, 30 Dec. 2014, www.gov.uk/government/collections/intellectual-property-trade-marks.
UK Government. “Patenting Your Invention.” GOV.UK, 8 Aug. 2014, www.gov.uk/patent-your-invention.
“Understanding Intellectual Property Laws for Graphic Designers.” Zeka Design, 29 Dec. 2023, www.zekagraphic.com/understanding-intellectual-property-laws-for-graphic-designers/.
“What Are Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs)?” Crowdspring, www.crowdspring.com/help/creating-project/what-are-non-disclosure-agreements-ndas/.
“Where Creative Professionals Come to Learn about the Law so They Can Create with Confidence.” Creative Law Center, 8 Mar. 2016, creativelawcenter.com/protect-designs-illegal-copying/.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/175613114X14105155617384
