The Carpet Council

Identifying copyright and how it applies to carpet and rug designs.

Agreed Copyright Ownership

The ownership of the design is deemed legally as shared when the interior designer and manufacturer have jointly contributed towards the development of a design. However, typically the manufacturer claims design copyright as they have produced the designs into a format that can subsequently be manufactured as carpet or rugs. There are times when the interior designer is insistent about design ownership and that is something that is generally agreed between the parties. There are also instances when the interior designer may ask the manufacturer to ensure the design is not re-produced for anyone else and although the design copyright stays with the manufacturer there will be an agreement that states it cannot be re-made.

The Carpet Council's Top Tips

To avoid copyright issues, use your own original sketches and hand drawn ideas (and keep a record of these).
If using third party source material find out it’s origin. Do not copy any source material without obtaining consent from the author, even if the author can't be found or is unknown.
Do not assemble alternative motifs in a way that resembles the original source material.
Any new designs created must not substantially resemble the original source even though not exact in every detail.
Establish who will own copyright at the start of the project – interior designer or carpet manufacturer, or shared. This will depend on how much creative ‘input’ each party has.

Design