Unit 30 P6

There are quite a few legal pitfalls in using and editing graphics. Firstly all graphic images are made by someone and the creators of an image or piece of work will have some sort of protection and this is called Copyright. Copyright is used by creators to prevent someone using their work then claiming that it's theirs. Having this protection of copyright is useful for the creators of the images because it doesn't allow anyone to use their images and work on them without their permission. People have to be aware of this when editing graphics because they could be using somebodies work which could be against the law. If anyone is caught doing something like this then they would have to face something serious. Plagiarism is a problem basically caused by the user of the image because it just shows that they haven’t got it properly protected, because if they did no one would be able to use it and edit it.
If you break the copyright law by using and editing a graphic image when not allowed, the owner of the image is allowed to sue you, and this normally ends up in the person paying a fine, it mostly depends on what damage you have done to the person's work and how much success you have got from it, because in some cases the person who has broken the copyright law can face a prison sentence of a maximum of 10 years, or even a big fine.

Trade mark law in the UK provides protection for the use of trade marks in the UK. A trade mark is a way for one party to distinguish themselves from another. In the business world, a trade mark provides a product or organisation with an identity which cannot be imitated by its competitors.A trade mark can be a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, sound, shape, signature or any combination of these things. If you use an identical or similar trade mark for identical or similar goods and services to a registered trade mark - you may be infringing the registered mark if your use creates a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public. This includes the case where because of the similarities between the marks the public are led to the mistaken belief that the trade marks, although different, identify the goods or services of one and the same trader
Intellectual property is a legal concept that is granted to creators of intellectual things and gives them exclusive rights that are recognised. Most of this includes musical, literary and artistic pieces, this means the creators have exclusive rights to their creation. It is also used for discoveries that are made and inventions, in some cases it is used for creators of words and symbols, but they all connect to copy right and trademarks. This law was put in place so creators get recognition for the work that they have done.