On Saturday June 15 we were at the International Fashion Code event in the unique setting of the Balenciaga Museum in the beautiful village of Getaria , along the Bay of Biscay.
Mario Pena, representing Safe Creative, talking about the possibilities of registration of private copyright for supplemental protection of fashion and design (Photo courtesy Jesús M. Peman (c) 2013 All Rights Reserved)
In this event, Safe Creative sponsored, high lever professional discussed the protection of fashion and design from the perspective of the sometimes confusing knowledge that exists even among fashion professionals, thus leading to a general misconception of the possibilities existing.
Protection of fashion and design is not only limited to patents and trademarks, but everyday more we find professionals turning towards the possibilities of unregistered European design and especially copyright protection as complementary tools to enforce their rights.
As we argued, in every work product of the human intellect, and more in fashion where originality and creativity is key to differentiation and competitive advantage – so necessary in these areas – there may be, and in fact there is, copyright protection. We have to add to this that there’re different treatment of this issues depending the laws across different countries. So inside Europe, we can find firmer laws describing the potential scope of copyrights in fashion and design works.
If we add the speed with which a design, drawing, fashion photography can be reached by the expanding digital world of the Internet, the early agnostc generation of strong, reliable, technological unexpensive and quick evidence of the existence of a particular work at a given time is certainly a more than useful procedure to do regardless of the way that the defense of the work might finally be.
Instead of more complicated, expensive and cumbersome systems to generate evidence of copyright, digital registration services which evidence is based on the strength of mathematical scientific criteria, is the logical answer to the protection needs with the best possible opportunity cost rate.
With regards to other more evident forms of protection used as the design and trademark related protection, it came to be evident the need to raise always a long-term strategy without neglecting any aspect as designers go and professionalizing their carreer.
June 17th, 2013
Marta Palacio
June 3rd, 2013
There are many things you can do to maximize the registration of your works. Here a few ideas:
- Have a file with the registered content with our copyright registration metadata in it if possible. For instance puting the work registration information link, or author profile in Safe Creative link in the copyright or authorship field of the work’s metadata http://www.photometadata.org/meta-tutorials-adobe-photoshop
Do you have any other suggestions? Feel free to comment.
April 16th, 2013
We are glad to inform that Safe Creative has reached the psychological milestone of 1.000.000 registrations. In fact right now there are proud to tell you that we have 1.037.871 copyright information records in our system. This actually means that the work’s registered are probably many more, as there are many single compressed file registrations containing several works. So the exact figures we cannot tell, but we might be talking about 1.200.000 or more works.
The number of users is constantly growing too. Right now we have more than 93.800 autors and rights holders in our copyright registration platform.
We are very happy with the trust users all around the world show in our system.
April 12th, 2013
Mario Pena
- A license is a legal text, while a registry is a place where you bind the license (if any) with the work itself, and the author’s identity
March 21st, 2013
Mario Pena
When we have to explain what is Safe Creative for we quickly reach a basic doubt: What is what motivates people most to register their creations?
During thisyears we have found answers all kinds, and really there is not one single motivation, but several that come together at the same time; the priority although usually varies depending on the wishes of the authors which is also reflected in the type of rights declaration they wish to state.
While one cannot generalize, we have noted there are two major trends that drive people to register in direct connection with this we have said in the previous paragraph:
- Generate and communicate evidence of authorship to prevent others from copying a work the author reserves all rights of or…
- … generate enough information to ensure that a work that the author wants to share, it is in the desired terms.
The first group is the most classic in the use of “copyright” and seek to avoid to the maximum that his creations may be copied and used without your express consent. We say that is classic as this vision is based on what the copyright laws and copyright have been giving by default for some three hundred years and has prevailed well into the 90s.
The second uses the new licensing models that allow authors to give certain permissions, such as Creative Commons licenses for their work to be spread and used, though, ensuring that the wishes expressed in the license are complied with, that is, to correctly attribute, to be or not be used commercially, and/or to permit the making of derivative works being those, if allowed, with the same license of the original work or possibly using a different one.
Whatever the model, the need to generate evidence of rights holding is critical but probably not the most critical issue: The bottom line is that the registration information is easily accessible either on the own work, or the environment in which it is published.
Therefore the truly desirable and main function should be paramount in any registration system is that the “report” is the focal point of it, because to some degree will prevent or somewhat discourage plagiarism or misuse of registered works. After that first step, and if something goes wrong, something that can occur, evidence of authorship generated will help try to make amends if possible and always with the best guarantees.
Magical solutions do not exist, and as Voltaire would say “Luck is what happens when preparation and opportunity meet and fuse.” Prepare yourself by registering and seize the opportunities that new technologies provide.
February 15th, 2013
Mario Pena
A question we get quite often is about death; death of a proyect, of a company. It’s a fact, not that there’s a possibility that a company might dissapear, but when will this happen. Of course we want to exist for many many years, but it’s true that someday, in a few centuries of course, we will go away as happens with any other company that today exists. And what will happen with all that’s been registered?
First thing is that’s the main reason behind adding quite some time ago a redundant independent, officially recognized timestamp. This means that if you have the registration certificate of the work registered (you can get it starting with the premium account and from previously recorded works too), and a digital copy of the registered file in your computer or other storage service, you will be able to proof your authorship and other rights even if Safe Creative is no longer there. And this is also this way because to identify the file itself we use the best hashes around. If we see we have to close or change, will inform our users with enought time to act upon this and most probably will facilitate ways to download all this vital information.
The second thing is that we are in close touch with other registries, no matter private or public and with institutions such as WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) in order to be able to transfer our registration information prior consent from users. This way the registration information might stay still publicly accesible.
Of course, any other idea or proposal is most welcome.
January 10th, 2013
Madrid 2012 December 11th.
The new “On Line Registration for audiovisual works and recordings, formats and scripts” is the first of its kind in the world
A single platform will enable the author to record his work, script or format in Spain and the United States; manage their rights him or herself or command someone to do it for him or her, give it ISAN number or provide access to it via the Internet
The collecting management entity EGEDA, Safe Creativeand the College of Registrars of Spain have joined forces to create the “On Line Register of audiovisual works and recordings, formats and scripts,” first of its kind in the world.
Until today there was no specific public record in which audiovisual works could be inscribed. The same applies to scripts or television formats. This situation generated a context of confusion and legal uncertainty that hindered its diffusion as there was not easy way to access accurate information of the various rightsowners of an audiovisual work, a script or an idea for television. To fix this, in mid-2011, a partnership between a technology company (Safe Creative), an audiovisual company (EGEDA) and an institution with legal recognition (Registrars of Spain) was established to create the digital registration service, which combines the advantages of digital, professional and legal registries.
This new digital registry will provide legal certainty to business transactions of the registered works, preventing them to be marketed without authorization from the legal owner. A single platform will enable authos, among other possibilities, to register their works, script or format in Spain and the United States; manage their rights themselves or command someone else to do it in their name, give to the work an ISAN number or give access to it in the Internet. All through their computers. On the other hand, potential buyers and users can quickly and easily access all information about the work, centralized in one single place.
ADVANTAGES OF THE DIGITAL REGISTRY
1. It allows everyone (individuals and companies) to register their content online, offering, immediately, agile and transparent, solid proof of authorship, supported by technology.
2. The basic service is free of charge.
3. It enables any user or consumer to make fast, convenient and online queries about the rights ownership of any work, format or audiovisual recording.
4. Provides online information so that rights owners manage their content or command a third party to perform a more professional management, facilitating interaction between owners and users, streamlining procedures and steps.
5. Provides effective legal protection not only the owner, but also the consumer or buyer of rights, offering online consultation by identifying the work as well as their owner or manager.
6. It can also help public institutions such as the ICAA or the ICEC, to avoid granting qualification certificates to applicants who act without rights for specific audiovisual works that cause serious problems for the sector.
7. Facilitates the establishment of new business models tailored to each owner and each work as will be able to offer, according to their requests and needs, the different products that are available (VOD, sequences, access platform TV formats and / or scripts, a global advocacy work or recording, etc..), making them immediately available to distributors, sales agents, etc…
8. Allows international management, digitalizing services and sequencing of the work or its incorporation into commercial platforms.
9. The legal registration, which will be integrated into the current register of property goods (Registrars of Spain), allow the owner of a work or recording to get funding related to sales or future revenues by establishing mortgages on such works, facilitating access to credit and enabling the industry to find the resources that will enable to develop its cultural and entertainment role.
With the creation of this online registry for audiovisual works, recordings, formats and scripts, we want to improve the opportunities offered by technology and Internet resources, promoting more awareness of audiovisual content and to help develop new business models in this environment.
For further information please contact Oscar Berrendo, Executive Director at EGEDA, through mail (oscar.berrendo@egeda.com) or phone( 915 121 610)
December 11th, 2012
Mario Pena
One of the major challenges we are facing and will face in the coming decades is concerned with the preservation of the digital content created. Although at first glance it may not seem so, to preserve digital content is becoming very difficult even impossible in many cases.
There are two basic questions that must be examined:
a) The obsolescence of formats and ways to access them
b) The huge amount of content being generated
A digital content may turn obsolete?
Yes, and for many reasons. The first and most obvious is for the media on which are recorded. We could speak of floppy disks, hard diskes and finally the cloud. The “cloud” is a concept that seems very esoteric and in our imagination could solve many problems, but actually they are servers hosted somewhere physically with their own hard drives and challenges to endure. However the problem is more visible when dealing with file formats and the respective applications that open or run those, or the operating systems that provide the ability to view, interpret those files or programs. Eventually what is now new becomes old and eventually obsolete in a very short period of time. Furthermore, considering the speed at which technology evolves, that obsolescence may occur in a few years when not months. If we add the portable reading and even creating devices that connect to services using complex set of rules, with the obsolescence of such equipment at stake, is not always possible to recover what he had access to or had created with.
It also happens that we eventually tend to forget where we have things stored, the passwords providing access to accounts and even more importantly, many service providers that generate and store those contents may disappear without giving option to regain some or all created items in there. Hence, it is necessary for the good practices of any company, be prepared for an emergency of this kind, as it isn’t not only not rare, but is sure will someday happen. Hardly a business is going to last “forever”. All companies and institutions have an expiration date, just happens we do not know that date. The contents, however, should be able to continue to exist somewhere somehow.
Is it possible to store all content always being generated? That is another big challenge. Should we keep it all? And if so, is it possible to keep it all?
Internet Archive ( http://www.archive.org ) knows well what we mean by this. This huge project of UC Berkeley stores as much digital content as is able to, and content mainly dedicated to the public domain in its wider definition (works whose authors expressly allow to share) with the aim to preserve for future generations.
But with every passing second new content is generated and uploaded to the Internet. In one day we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of new works. The volume is huge and to store and make it available consumes huge amounts of energy.
Not all the contents have the same quality nor relevance, that’s clear, but… who are we to judge now what deserves or not to be rescued for the future? As a simple example we could mention any of those painters who died in misery who could not imagine the fortunes that were to be paid for their paintings or historical relevance of their works.
Even the most insignificant item is part of who we are today and has its relative importance. We may never preserve everything, but at least we have to try so that the future generations better realize the historical context that did make their time as it will be.
Bottom line:
We are very far from being able to save everything, but we should not underestimate the importance of even the most apparently trivial item as it may be essential in the future to understand the story that will have to be studied. A simple tweet may have been the spark that changes the world forever. Everything holds its value and as a future challenge, when technology permits to store everything indefinitely, it will be to be able to interpret in the right context all that information. Meanwhile we must each do the necessary work for the archiving and preservation of the content we create and maintain.
November 28th, 2012
Mario Pena
Internet is not, although lot of people will think otherwise, an exploitation window such as TV or radio (one direction media). Internet is an amplified technologically based expression of the analog reality, thus something just as real also. To confuse the “exploitation windows” concept is something very dangerous and is happeing already in many aspects. It’s a philosophycal question, but we need to understand it or we fall into the risk of enforce ourselves into the sole digital environment when the key to success (whatever it means to anybody) has to deal with seing reality as it is now, with it’s digital and analog sides completely related to each other.
November 22nd, 2012
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