From Beth Woody

April 24, 2015

Dear Fellow Marquetarians,

Those of you who missed the Asheville meeting last month really missed a good one.  Chris Clark, an attorney from Charlotte spoke to us regarding copyrights and trademarks.  More details of his presentation later in this newsletter.

We will discuss ordering more t-shirts and possibly a tote bag with the Marquetarians of the Carolinas logo at our May meeting.  Information regarding cost, colors, and sizes will be provided.

Our dues will be raised to $15.00 per year beginning in 2016.  For 2015, they are still $12, and if you have not already paid, please remit them to Beth Woody, 109 Elmer Road, Hillsborough, NC, or you may pay at the May meeting.

Our meeting schedule for the rest of the year is:  May 23 at Al Spicer’s shop in Dallas; July 11 at Herzog Veneer in High Point; September 12 at Sauers Veneer in Lexington; November 7 at Klingspor in Hickory.  Program details and directions will be sent prior to each meeting.

As many of you know, the Oregon Chapter, the Northern California Chapter and the Carolinas Chapter were challenged to do a picture using only 3 veneers.  Our group had several entries and Al Spicer took overall top honors with his beautiful maple leaf picture.  His picture was featured on the cover of the Spring issue of the American Marquetarian and the other results were pictured inside.  WAY TO GO, AL!  There should be a copy of this issue at the May meeting for people to look at.

The May meeting will be held at Al Spicer’s shop.  Directions are below.  We will set up for a beginners’ workshop with the “Clyde” saw.  Patterns and veneers will be furnished and club members will be available to assist and instruct anyone wanting to use the saw.  In order that we have enough saws and veneer available, please let Bonnie Richardson (urabus2000@aol.com) know if you want to use one of the saws.  There will also be stations set up to practice sand shading and perhaps stringer cutting.  It will definitely be a busy meeting.  At present, the plans are that we will have a deli tray of meats, bread and condiments available for lunch (with a donation jar to offset the cost), or you may bring your own lunch.  The Club will provide drinks and the usual opening refreshments.

Directions:  From I-40, head South on US321 (just west of Hickory) and take the Hardin Rd exit (first exit after you cross the Gaston County line). At the top of the ramp turn right onto Hardin Rd. Go to the blinking red light, continue straight. The shop is 1 and 1 tenth mile from the red light. (NOTE: the road changes names after the light) It becomes Ike Lynch Rd. In one mile the road makes a sharp turn to the left and becomes Puett’s Chapel Rd. Ike Lynch Rd. goes off to the right. Make the turn to the left, shop is one tenth mile on the left after the big turn and across the street from a 2 story brick house.

From I-85, headed North on US321 (just before Gastonia) take the Hardin Rd exit. At the top of the ramp turn left onto Hardin Rd. Go to the blinking red light, continue straight. The shop is 1 and 1 tenth mile from the red light. (NOTE: the road changes names after the light) It becomes Ike Lynch Rd. In one mile the road makes a sharp turn to the left and becomes Puett’s Chapel Rd. Ike Lynch Rd. goes off to the right. Make the turn to the left, shop is one tenth mile on the left after the big turn and across the street from a 2 story brick house.

The address of the shop is 4110 Puett’s Chapel Rd., Dallas, NC.  28034 and the phone number is 336-855-1325.

Let’s have a good turn-out for this meeting.

Recap of Chris Clark’s talk:

Intellectual property covers patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets.  A patent covers inventions and is valid for 20 years from the date of application for a patent.  It usually takes 3-5 years to get a patent.  A patent is not a right to make an item but is the right to exclude others from making that item.  It may still infringe or overlap on another, i.e. a patent for a bottle may overlap/infringe on a patent for a bottle cap.

A trademark or brand is used to distinguish one from another.  Can be confusingly similar.  In the case of United Airlines and United Van Lines, the word “United” can be used for multiple trademarks, but something like Coco-Cola cannot be used as a name for a car or clothes.  A name can be a trademark, and signing the back of a picture can be considered a trademark.  Common law generally protects these in region/geographic area you do business.

Copyright is for an author’s’ or artist’s original works.  The life of a copyright is for 70 years after the death of the originator, but can be extended, i.e. Disney.  It limits the right to make copies, to distribute by sale, and to display.  A copyright should be obtained as soon as the work is “fixed in a tangible medium” but carries no protection while “thinking about” the work.  You must file for a federal copyright to get protection and there is a $40 fee for each item.  Each change to the original can be a copyrighted element.  A copyright application can be filed for a collection of works, such as photos, but it will cover the body of work as a whole, and not individual items within the body of the work.  Before anyone can recover damages for a copyright violation, they must prove how much they were damaged by the infringement.

Some large companies, such as Disney, colleges, professional sports teams, are extremely protective of their logos, colors, and fonts,  and require payment of a franchise fee if one wants to use any of their images.  They will often go after anyone they feel is using their logo/trademark/etc without their permission, and the penalties in this case can be quite substantial.

As a marquetarian, your main consideration should be the practical aspect of what you are doing, rather than the legal aspect.  A “fair use defense” may protect you against infringement penalties from the general public, but not from some entity like Disney.  This “defense” considers the purpose and character of your use; whether the use of the original is transformative; the nature of the copyrighted work; the amount of the original work used; and the effect of use on a potential market, i.e. use of rubber stamp designs on cards.  A parody is almost always a successful defense.  Also use as an educational tool is almost always all right.