# Marketing - Copyright



## Charles_FL (Oct 17, 2009)

Hello everyone !! 

I have questions regarding these two topics.

Marketing: Taking into consideration that some of us have no experience in Marketing which is the hardest part of the business and the most important. Shouldn't it be a good idea to pay a Marketing company to do that? I know it must be expensive. But How expensive this could be? How much (a rough estimate o range) is a Marketing campaign for a new tshirt brand? I've been searching for some Marketing companies and they offer from the ideas how to get your target customer to the website in a "pro" way. What do you guys think about this? Will it be worth it? Super expensive? Or read, learn and try by myself which take longer?

Copyright: I have some designs that can have some copyrights issues. For example if we use an image of Coca Cola is there any Copyright issue involved? Do we have to get permission ? Or Let's say the famous phrase of " I am in Miami Bit..." , Should it be copyrighted or anyone can just take this quote ,print it and sell it. 

Thanks in advance for your help guys !!!!


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## MySizeCheapTees (Oct 6, 2010)

Marketing- I don't know anything about your company, your margins, but there is never enough margin to cover what people will charge you while running a tshirt business in the beginning. 

There is always free marketing. Always. Go around these forums and look up what other people do. With social media alone you can have a decent launch. Contacting bloggers is the easiest, cheapest and best way to get exposure when starting out.

Spend some time on mashable.com learn about social media. Spend time reading books on branding and buzz marketing. Take some time and educate yourself and the possibilities are endless.


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## PositiveDave (Dec 1, 2008)

Charles_FL said:


> Copyright: I have some designs that can have some copyrights issues. For example if we use an image of Coca Cola is there any Copyright issue involved? Do we have to get permission ? Or Let's say the famous phrase of " I am in Miami Bit..." , Should it be copyrighted or anyone can just take this quote ,print it and sell it.


Images/phrases associated with companies could get you into serious bother.


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

Charles_FL said:


> Shouldn't it be a good idea to pay a Marketing company to do that?


It's probably worth looking into it and getting more info about the cost and service. But a good thing to consider is the importance of distribution in addition to marketing. Your marketing campaign may generate exposure for your brand, but actually converting that into sales is very dependent on the retail availability of your product. Not all consumers will buy t-shirts from a website. So if you're going to pay good money for a professional marketing campaign, you may also want to have your product available at reputable retail outlets (this of course is a whole different challenge altogether).



Charles_FL said:


> I have some designs that can have some copyrights issues. For example if we use an image of Coca Cola is there any Copyright issue involved?


When using a property such as Coca Cola, it's actually a trademark issue and not a copyright issue. It is highly recommended to not use trademarked material in your designs. It's an obvious infringement and a likely way to get sued.



Charles_FL said:


> Do we have to get permission?


Yes, to legally use existing intellectual property you need permission in the form of a license. It usually involves yearly fees plus a royalty percentage to get a license for a property such as Coca Cola.



Charles_FL said:


> Or Let's say the famous phrase of " I am in Miami Bit..." , Should it be copyrighted or anyone can just take this quote ,print it and sell it.


Song titles and lyrics are copyrighted. So no, you can't just take it, print it and sell it. Copyright and trademark protection can be different. So if you think it's generic enough, then you can take a chance. But the copyright owner has the right to sue. It's probably best to consult an IP attorney before proceeding.


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## takingyouforward (Oct 18, 2010)

It's copyrighted from Coca Cola, you can't use it for your own purposes. I think they will not allow the other business company to use their (coca cola company) logo as long as you will ask them a permission to be their partner for your businesses.
__________________
Philippine Call Center Services


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## Charles_FL (Oct 17, 2009)

Thank you guys !!
Very interesting posts. Now, I see that the Marketing plan have to be step by step, because as "Kimura" said if you are just starting your company, and use a Super Marketing plan, maybe you don't have enough stock available to feed that demand. 
And for the copyright issue, the best way should be to contact a lawyer and ask him about it. 
Thanks "takingyouforward" "dave" "Kimura" and "Mysizecheapteas" . I appreciate your help !!


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## StoneEyes (Sep 3, 2010)

Copyright vs Trademark control of rights is out there to protect the owner of the original information. Recommend you surf the net to learn about the differences between the 2 and the offices to submit your documents/images/website etc to if you select to go that route. 

Some say its a long arduous process, I didn't think that was the case. But each persons gauge is a bit different. Link included for your guide


http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/copyrightmystery/


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## TeesForChange (Jan 17, 2007)

Marketing companies can be expensive, so I think it's best to start out doing your own marketing at first. brainstorm ideas about how you can get your shirts out there, who you want to partner with, how to use Facebook/Twitter for marketing, how to upsell/cross sell, etc. There are lots of things you can do, but i think that when you are first starting out and have a small budget, you need to be doing it yourself.


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## Charles_FL (Oct 17, 2009)

Thank you StoneEyes and Andreea !!! I appreciate your help. This forum is definately great !!


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## StoneEyes (Sep 3, 2010)

Charles_FL said:


> Thank you StoneEyes and Andreea !!! I appreciate your help. This forum is definately great !!



Glad I was able to help with my limited knowledge. Enjoy


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