Once Again, the T-Shirt Is at the Core of the Concern

By Richard Amada on Aug 13, 2009 | In Cinema, TV, Radio

If someone were attempting to gauge the very core of current concern to the arts world based on the content of this blog, a person might very well come to the conclusion that it's all about the humble T-shirt.

Once a mere undergarment designed to prevent one from staining one's shirt with perspiration, the T-shirt is now a veritable work of art that commands a huge portion of the fashion industry. But, of course, you already know that.

What people don't always realize is that a T-shirt isn't immune to the laws that protect intellectual property. Or, maybe they do realize that, but don't quite know how it all works.

Case in point, I recently saw a question posed on a law listserv in which someone was asking whether a company would get in trouble if it printed a phrase from a TV show on the T-shirts the company manufactures. The questioner wanted to know whether that would be a copyright violation.

Well, copyright of a simple phrase is pretty uncommon. Without something more than a handful of words strung together, it's awfully hard to claim you own the copyright on a single phrase. Imagine if someone could copyright the phrase "I love you" or "happy birthday." Wouldn't you like to get a nickel for ever time someone uses one of those!

More probable is that the phrase, if it's especially recognizable and identifiable with a particular program, might be trademarked. But, again, that's a big might. Trademark, after all, is reserved exclusively for marks that are used in commerce. (Think about "Got milk?") If it's not being used to sell something, a short phrase may not make the grade for trademark.

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