So, I made a free logo for a Minecraft server because I thought the change would be nice. He declined by saying that he doesn't feel comfortable because copyright issues may be involved. I don't understand.
I made this logo on Gimp and yes, it's mine, but I'm giving it to him, completely free. Is there a way I could make him know I intend not to put any type of Copyright on it? It's a simple graphic.
He's worried about the copyright Microsoft holds gorgeous Minecraft.
First of all, by creating it in a tangible form, you already DO own the copyright on it under US law.
But I'm thinking his concern might be whether or not the graphic infringes on an already-existing trademark. You may have just designed it "off the top of your head," but that doesn't mean a similar logo isn't already in use.
Whenever a person or business intends to use a new logo, the responsibility is on them to do the 'due diligence' and ensure no existing rights are being infringed. Trademark searches can be very cumbersome and costly. I'm guessing this person is telling you he'd rather be safe than sorry.
Don't let the Irvine TX police find out, Ahmed.
Just because you made it from scratch doesn't mean it doesn't resemble a copyrighted work. That is the problem - what you made resembles something that is copyrighted, and using it would be a risk.
There can be any number of issues.
First, your logo may infringe on somebody else's work. If it even says Minecraft, for example, you're running into issues with Microsoft. If it's too similar to what somebody else has done, it can be infringing itself.
Also, it's automatically copyright protected as soon as you create it. It's very rare than creators fully transfer copyright, and say others can do whatever they want with their work. Usually, a creator gives another person permission to use their work. That's called a license. It's usually pretty specific about the kinds of things that are okay, and are not okay.
If he starts using your logo with permission, he can run into problems. Let's say two years from now, his server has become super popular, and people love the logo. Now they want to use it as computer wallpaper, and they want t-shirts with it, etc. You probably didn't intend to give him permission to do that when you let him use the logo for his server. Even if you thought of it, you thought it would be common sense that he'd talk to you about it if something like that ever happened. Well, was your logo really "free" or not? What if Microsoft wants to buy his server, including the logo, for $10 million. Is he allowed to sell it along like that? What if McDonald's wants to do a promo with your logo, and they promise they'll give you "credit," and slap your name on Big Macs for a month? Do you want to have something to say about that?
Anyway, he can indeed have copyright issues, both with you infringing others, and with licensing with you. Your work is copyrighted automatically. And unless you're fully transferring copyright to him, and know what you're getting into, it's not worth his hassle.