The Questions

According to the book, "Writers, inventors, and artists transform ideas into tangible property." (Patent, Copyright, & Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 1) Since I am an aspiring fashion editor, I need to make sure the idea pieces I produce are transformed into tangible property. Here's a look at the questions I had prepared for the interview with Mr. Uglow:

1.         Since I’m running a blog, is it smart to put a patent on my entries? Am I allowed to patent all my entries, or am I limited? Is there a way to patent my whole website?
2.         When patenting a design and someone wants to use that same design on their merchandise, is there anything else I need to be aware of besides paperwork? When signing the paperwork, are there certain contracts I need to be aware of before signing away permission?
3.         When running a fashion retail store, if there was a proposal to turn my store into a franchise, what copyright and trademark laws should I be aware of when I’m signing away rights for this to successfully happen?
4.         When running a retail store with apparel from other brands, if I wanted to potentially cancel that account because the brand’s merchandise is not selling so well at my store, would that be in violation of the contract? If they hypothetically refused, what actions would I need to take?
5.         When it comes to writing about public events in the area, do I need to contact the people running that event so that there are no legal issues? Would it be in my best interest to have a contract for them to sign for anything that I write, or am I covered by freedom of speech at that point?
6.         If I were inspired by a patent design and wanted to use it on my own apparel, how would I go about getting permission from the person who patented the design?
7.         If I was given permission to use a patent design from the creator, and they wanted to make a deal with me  saying I could only use their design if they get a cut from what I make from my apparel, what contracts and negotiations would I have to make so that the outcome of this situation is fair?
8.         If I wanted to start a collection of clothing and wanted to collaborate with another designer, what rights do we both have when it comes to ownership for the line? Would we need a contract with each other to avoid any legal issues?
9.         When creating a fashion runway show for the public and we wanted to use music in the background for the show, do we have to ask for permission to use that song for our show? As administrator for the fashion show, would I need to write out a formal request in order to receive permission?
10. .     When it comes to a design I’ve patented, if another designer wanted to use my design on their apparel, would I be able to collect revenue from how much they make? What kind of contracts and negotiations would I need to make that happen?

However, I only ended up asking him four out of the ten questions because I realized that some of my questions depended on the situation and some of them were redundant. So I cut the question asking to four, realizing that even with four questions, I'd have enough to present for this project.

The first question I asked him was #1, which asks if I should put a patent on my blog entries. He corrected me and said that blog entries have copyrights on them, not patents. However, I could put a copyright on each entry, and if someone wanted to whatever I wrote, they would have to present a request in writing. He also told me that if I did copyright my entries, it'd be a great way to build a nice reputation in the community and in the fashion industry. The book states, "A copyright gives the owner of a creative work the right to keep others from unauthorized use of the work." (Patent, Copyright, & Trademark, Richard Stim, Pg. 197) I should start to make sure the my blog entries have copyrights on them in order to receive credit for my work and most importantly, so that no one can steal and claim my work as their own.

The next question I asked was regarding what I would need to do if I wanted to use a patented design on one of my own clothing. He responded saying that there are no patents for design, with the exception of a few things. An example he gave me was how a clasp on a bag could be patented because of the style. He also went into more detail saying that at that point, the question should then be turned into, "What's the difference between copying and being inspired by something," something that makes a lot of sense in this scenario.

The third question I asked was about what I would need to do in order to be granted permission to use a piece of music for a big time runway fashion show. Mr. Uglow told me that it's a good idea even if not a whole lot people do it. When I asked him how I would go about asking asking permission for the music, he told me about this website called  www.the-acap.org, where I could find out more information on how to ask permission for the song.

The last and final question I asked Mr. Uglow was regarding public events and writing about them. I asked if I needed permission in order to write about a public event in the community. He responded with a "No" and that I'm protected under the third amendment to be able to do that without any hassle. However, he did say it would be a great idea to inform the person incharge of the event what I was doing so that they could read and comment about the event.

The reason why I asked these questions because one day I want to be a fashion editor. By asking these questions and receiving the answers to them, I'm more aware of the things I might face while working in the fashion industry.