UK rock engraved with the sandblasting process.
A while back, I meet someone that engraved rocks with college logos and sold them at local craft and garden shows. As you might expect, these were a much bigger hit than some of the non-copyright designs. Of course, the whole reason designs are in copyright is to prevent someone from profiting from their organization’s own brand which takes time and effort to build it.
Engraving Logos on Stone as a Hobby
Unfortunately, even if we are fans of a college team and want to show our love of the school by selling others engraved rocks of the logo, it is unlawful. However, engraving rocks as a hobby or to give to friends isn’t usually an issue since you aren’t profiting on it. The photo on the right is one example of a University of Kentucky rock that I sandblast engraved for a coworker.
Licensing Copyright Designs
But there are ways to use an organization’s logo or design by paying a license fee. In most cases, the fees paid won’t be ideal for the small shop that engraves rocks unless they sell thousands of them a year.
If I recall correctly, this guy told me to sandblast engrave an Ohio State University logo on rocks, it would cost him $3,000 per year fee plus 8% commission. In my opinion, this probably wouldn’t be worth the cost unless a minimum of 1,500-3,000 rocks were sold per year. Otherwise, it might not be profitable.
The guy I talked to said he’s had some experience with copyright lawyers after selling items and has received a cease and desist order before. So even if you are a very small shop, please be advised that you may still see some issues.
Is there a way around the copyright laws without buying a license?
I don’t think so, but he did state something interesting. His lawyer apparently read some documents (I assume the license rules of one of the colleges or maybe its the rules on copyright laws itself) stating the copyright rule holds for items of certain types of rocks but didn’t state natural granite boulders so it would be questionable to use. With that said, he used natural granite boulders.
I am not sure how that would help his case with copyright lawyers, but perhaps it might give him some protection in the court of law for the prevention of being sued. I am sure a cease and desist order would still be issued but those usually don’t involve loss of financial resources.
Learn More About Rock Engraved Blasting
If you would like to learn more about rock engraving, I encourage you to sign up for our new training area on how to sandblast rocks here. It covers everything for ways folks can get started on a budget on a small scale to larger established businesses.
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what s the best way to Print a stencil? Do you have any knowledge in a good printer/cutter that is price effective?
As far as copyrighted material, I will usually always pay license fees for designs or images i engrave on rocks. You can download designs from VectorStock.com but make sure you pay the fee for expanded license which allows you to engrave that image and sell the rock. Also you can’t just download an image off a google search and use it in an item you are selling.
As far as a cutter, I use the Magnum Force stencil cutter 24″ from SCM. its pricey. Would be interesting to see what this machine costs straight from APD (Advanced Plotting Devices). But it is worth the money i suppose. Made alot of money with it.
@Chris, there is a bit too much to discuss in the comment section here and I am almost complete with Module 2 in the training area that answers all this. There are a few ways with picture tutorials there. But one way is to print it out and burnish it onto the stencil or directly print with thinner stencil sheets. Plotter/cutters are will be discussed thoroughly there soon too, but typically you need one with a servo motor. I will list some of the inexpensive options.
@ Austin, thanks for those suggestions!