Husky Laws

[Renniwano]

Ok, here's a question i'm stumped on..

I know sayings in general can't be copyrighted.. but what about a heap of Husky Property Laws..

I have a load of Husky Owners that have the laws on their FB pages etc.. and wondered if they could be put onto mugs etc for them..

I know that there is one lady who has them all over the usual Zazzle, Cafepress etc.. but don't want to be treading on toes

Basically the laws are as follows..

http://www.cafepress.co.uk/dd/23730697

Would love to know what you think before I say yes or no to orders..

Cheers guys.

[Ian M]

Nikki, this isn't any easy one to be honest. If it is a poular phrase or quote that someone is widely known to use then they can say they have the rights to that particular phrase or quote. As far as I know you cannot copyright a saying or a quote unless it is tied in with say a companies product that is copyrighted ot their trade mark. It seems there is a way around using someone elses phrases or quotes & that is to acknowledge them.

I do know that Cafepress are well over the top when it comes to something that is copyrighted such as a logo. I did some designs for a business in Australia & we had permission from a major car manufacturer in Japan to use their old name & logo but, Cafepress decided to pull them all straight away. They were faxed copies of all the letters etc giving us permission & still they would not put them on their site.

So, from what I know about Cafepress I would say your probably ok as they would not have them on their site if they thought there could be an issue with copyright etc.

[JSR]

In my mind, those laws as presented would be subject to copyright (owned by whoever first created the list of laws). It would be like a poem. You may be able to defend the use of one law as an incidental/accidental/coincidental recreation without foreknowledge of the original, but to use all of them indicates copying of someone else's work.

You may wish to check out this page: http://www.siberianhuskyvic.org.au/pawprints/?TP=Humour

They claim "Unless otherwise indicated, the documents listed herein are © Copyright Siberian Husky Club of Victorian Inc.", and the "Siberian Husky property laws (Pawprints Spring 2005)" is one such document in the list. I think you need to sign up and log in to see the document, but there may be more information on the actual document that clarifies copyright. It might be wise to sign up and find out.

[AdamB]

Good find Jonathan - just out if interest, were you already aware of this or did you do a little research after the question was asked?

[JSR]

I just Googled for "husky laws"+"copyright".

[AdamB]

I just Googled for "husky laws"+"copyright".

Thought so - just an example of members such as yourself going that extra mile to help other members out

[cardman]

bit hard to copyright that signs

If its mine then i say its mine as they can be applied to almost anything
Not being funnie but can knock something up better in 2 mins
the design is all wrong and the wording dont actually mean anything


Infact i knew i seen them laws before

Murphys law - go read them


If it's mine it's mine,
if it's yours it's mine,
if I like it is mine,
if I can take it from you it is mine,
if I am playing with something ALL of the pieces are mine,
if I think it is mine it is,
if I saw it first it's mine,
if I had it then put it down it is still mine,
if you had it then you put it down it is now mine,
if it looks like the one I have at home it is mine,
if it is broken it is yours.

[JSR]

bit hard to copyright that signs

If its mine then i say its mine as they can be applied to almost anything
Not being funnie but can knock something up better in 2 mins
the design is all wrong and the wording dont actually mean anything

It's not anyone here you'd have to argue with, it's those who state prior claim. No amount of speculation means anything when you're being sued for copyright infringement.

The only question is whether you want to go toe-to-toe with those who claim copyright.

[mrs maggot]

they are almost generic laws now, seen similar on a GSD dog forum, and several others, rework, reword, and make your own "unique set" of what are as cardman says murphys law and a thousand others

[Ian M]

Nice bit of research there Jonathan.