Any Solution ?

[Jasdir Singh Jaura]

I made a piece. I don't want my design to be copied by somebody else.
How to get it Hallmarked ? As I fear that my design would be copied by Hallmarking-center by taking snap etc.

Thank you all in advance

_/\_Jasdir.

[Dennis]

Hi Jasdir, how are you?

There is nothing new under the sun, so it is extremely difficult to claim authorship of a design, or prevent it being copied, even if you have a very expensive lawyer.

However In the UK at least, I have the utmost faith in our assay offices and would not suspect them of colluding with a competing firm. You can register with the London assay office for hallmarking, but the distances involved, and possible loss in transit would hardly make it worthwhile. Regards, Dennis.

[ps_bond]

I made a piece. I don't want my design to be copied by somebody else.

Tough. You can try to go to great lengths to avoid your designs being copied - joining ACID, for example - but at the end of the day it will make absolutely no difference. I've seen a lot of copying done en masse by companies where, shall we say, the cost of living is much lower. I've seen a lot done by individual jewellers too - not automatically knowingly, but there's really nothing new under the sun, just variations on a theme. All designs have a finite lifetime before they're copied and there's not much can be done about it other than to emphasise the intangibles of your design. Last weekend at Blenheim I learned of a jeweller who it was claimed had copied some much older designs by a well-established jeweller, who is now herself being copied.

How to get it Hallmarked ? As I fear that my design would be copied by Hallmarking-center by taking snap etc.

Really? You think that's likely given the volume of work they have, the office they hold? It's a trust-based system - if you won't trust them, then it isn't going to work. I doubt the Assay Offices in the UK are going to be entirely impressed with the suggestion that they are unethical, but they're more than capable of defending themselves.

Fundamentally, if you don't want your work copied, don't let anyone see it. Ever. Not online, not in person. Lock it away in a box and never show it to anyone.

[SteveLAO]

The hallmark will not prevent your design being copied. It is just an independent authentication of the standard of metal used. If you want to protect your design I would think you would need to have your designs copyrighted. We and the other assay offices are not the slightest bit interested in copying designs, particularly as we are not involved in manufacturing anything.

[Gemsetterchris]

Well it`s easy enough to go to your slideshow for design ideas, it was a good idea to keep most of the pics out of focus as it makes it harder to replicate
You should take people copying as a compliment or then name & shame them.

[Dennis]

I would like to add that you should emphasize in all your literature, advertising and boxes, that this is genuine hand crafted jewellery by JASDIR (or whatever), and to look for the Jasdir logo stamped on each piece. Then have a distinctive stamp made including the (TM) symbol. Dennis

[enigma]

Is it not illegal to copy other peoples designs directly in the UK then?
It certainly is in the US once a design has been made in 3D.
Obviously people always take inspiration/ideas from others but to actually copy?

Mind you, sorry Jasdir but I had to laugh at the idea that the hallmarking office would go around copying peoples work

[ps_bond]

It's bad, but it's incredibly difficult to defend. And costly.

[enigma]

That figures :/

[medusa]

Well it`s easy enough to go to your slideshow for design ideas, it was a good idea to keep most of the pics out of focus as it makes it harder to replicate
You should take people copying as a compliment or then name & shame them.

Meowwww!

Sorry Jasdir, it's kind of par for the course. And I'm not sure how enforceable copyright is anyway given the number of floating heart pendants that look like they came from Holly Golightley's favourite Caff available from places such as the esteemed Elizabeth Duke.