Of course Microsoft doesn't own it. That's like saying that Kodak owns all
the photos because they made the film and the camera.

If you created the template, then you own it, and indeed the whole point of
copyright law is to protect someone in your position. But proving it is
another matter, particularly with designs used on the web. If all that's
involved is a few thousand dollars and your pride, then swallow it and walk
away unless you really think your money belongs in a lawyer's bank account.
At least, don't do anything while you're still angry.




"Karen" wrote in message
...
Who owns the copyright on graphic design layouts prepared in MS Word?

I designed a professional layout for a retail catalog using MS Word and
custom graphics, saved as Adobe PDF for easy download. The design is used
by
several clients, who save money because it's simple to change the colour
scheme, logo and product range. Each client who uses the template receives
notification that the design is copyright to me - they avoid high graphic
design fees based on this agreement.

But... one of those clients duplicated my design and refuses to pay or
remove it from her web site. She's earned thousands of dollars from
stealing
my design, so I'm pretty angry about it. She says Bill Gates owns the
copyright of everything designed in Word, so I want to check before I
spend
money on legal advice.

I doubt very much if Microsoft owns copyright on everything
written/designed
in Word. What do you think?