Frederick Bouchat, an amateur artist, has asked a federal appeals court to prohibit the Baltimore Ravens from showing their original logo  old game films. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond heard arguments against the Ravens and NFL films. A jury had ruled in 1998 that the Ravens logo design belonged to Bouchat’s, but did not award damages. The team switched to a new logo the following year. The Ravens have the old logo on their films from their first three seasons as a new franchise in Baltimore. A federal judge had ruled in the Ravens favor saying the use of the logo is incidental and fair use.

So does this mean if you have a design and someone claims that you have copied it, will sue you for copyright infringment? In a short answer, yes. It will not however guarantee them a win and monetary damages. Copyright, by a overall definition, is if you created it, its yours and yours alone. Articles, stories, journals, or computer programs, pictures and graphics, music and song lyrics, etc are examples or copyrighted materials. If you invented something, then you will need a patent.  A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used to distinguish them from the goods of others.