David

Snap, Have you been to a patent attorney? Dave

Look at you gettin down with all the decorative braiding....you know I gotta love that. David

Raymond David born this week! He's our fourth. Cute as can be.... 6lbs 7 oz and 19" David Theobald

Marlon, Very, very well done. I love the color and the fact that you went with the angled slit and not holes..... very impressive. The bi-color lacing is well done also of course. I'm very impressed with your tooling. You have quite a command of your tools. Super.... David Theobald

Fire, Beautiful work, what else can I say? I've looked at all your posts and your work is just great. Keep it up and please keep sharing it with us. Dave

Darryl, You've made very rapid progress with your tooling. Your last effort was great. Let's see you put all that cool tooling on something like a wallet, binder or something. If you ever need inspiration, go to your search engine....I use Yahoo.... and type in fantasy art images. Some cool stuff comes up. Dave

I would second that comment. This is a seat to wet mold for sure. It is not how I build seats but I have the luxury of starting each seat with a bare flat metal pan. Dave Theobald

Beautiful Anne, I will be looking for that tutorial. I'd love to do that. David Theobald

Jordan, Interesting question. Around here all the law enforcment guys wear their conceal in an ankle holster. I guess it depends on which you find easiest and most accessable. Do you want to pull up your shirt or your pant leg? Dave

Thanks for all the comments folks, they are much appreciated as always. David Theobald

Gotta second these comments nice original work. Especially like the belt. Dave

CEM You are coming through loud and clear, you are on the front lines of this discussion and you comments are right on the money and very pertinent Thanks David Theobald

With respect to the first part of your question about using the Tandy kit as a pattern. I've looked over several Tandy kits that I have in stock and see no copyright or patent information on them. This information is required on patented items. You can look that up on any search engine. With respect to the Jackass wallet, assuming that the Jackass is a trademark, it would seem logical that to be guilty of infringement you would have to sell or make a profit from it....but that doesn't seem to be the case. Simply making the mark is by definition an infringement. You can look that up on any search engine. Dave

Since I offered no LEGAL advice; there is no need for ME to be cautious at all, I expressed my opinion AGAINST using another's mark. Especially under the circumstances given in the post. The opinion was gleaned from 40 years of association with the profession. Now if I had advised to go ahead and use the mark....a totally different story. But I do want to make it PERFECTLY clear I am NOT an attorney and what I was expressing was an opinion. Which I still hold.

Hey K-Man, There are certainly legal ways of putting a Harley made emblem on a product that you are making, getting agreements with Harley in advance is one sure way. But that didn't seem to be what was being discussed. Unless I misunderstood the post, it seemed like the author believed that it was ok to put the emblem on anything, as long as Harley made the emblem. Certainly Harley produces those window decals and as long as you are putting them on something that clearly isn't motorcycle related (like your car window) you have no problem, but if you begin putting them on saddlebags....or wallets or vests or jackets etc.....all of which Harley does license, you are going to have a problem. As an aside, Harley formerly liscensed conchos with their emblem to Tandy, I believe, but they have discontinued that and are now guarding their intellectual property much more closely. I agree totally with your statement : "I've seen many examples here on leatherworker where folks have ignored the fact that they've infringed on a copyright or trademarked logos. It simply amazes me that one would do so. IMO, it reflects a great lack of integrity on the part of the artisan." In addition to the integrity issue I think it also reflects a lack of creativity. Dave Theobald

Russ, That is not much of a grey area to me....he made an object and put a Harley emblem on it....yeah Harley made the emblem but putting it on something he made IMPLIED that it was an official Harley product. DONT DO IT. Good way to get in trouble. If a customer asks for a Harley emblem on something, he better be from Harley Davidson. If he isn't from HD....politely decline the job or try to encourage him to be creative or let you be creative.... I do it all the time. Unfortunately, there are many bikers out there who don't have a creative bone in their bodies. Beeze here on LW is an outstanding exception...as are many others...Shirley... etc. Mostly bikers want something they saw on Joe Schmo's bike. Show them some of your creative work....you can lead them where you want them to go. Dave

Lots of good straight info here. My real job is working as an illustrator for patent and trademark attorneys. Some companies guard their marks very jealously. Others are lenient. Bottom line don't do it, it isn't worth the risk. If you get taken to court and found guilty of willful infringement, the court will asses damages and you will be fined 3 times that amount plus court costs. Some of the companies that will sue at the drop of a hat.... or trademark Harley Davidson, Coke, P&G, most alcohol and beer companies, Disney. Not a complete list but you get the idea. The whole idea of leatherwork is to be creative. David

The lacing patterns used are very standard single loop, double loop, triple loop, mexican basketweave. you can find these pattern in a very inexpensive booklet called How to Lace... no author, it is available at Tandy. Dave

Shirley, That is good news for a lot of reasons, mostly because your child's illness isn't going to require surgery. I'm so sorry that you've had such a rough year. I hope things will start to smooth out a bit and you will be able to get back to some of your beautiful leather work. I'll look forward to your tutorial, I've been wanting to do a bag for a rigid for a long time. Maybe your tutorial will inspire me to get going on it. Take care, Dave

Hi Linda, very nice work, you'll do well at your June show. Keep up the great work. David

Ian, The seat looks great, can you explain the construction of the seat....how is the skirt added? And how does everything go together.... Thanks, Dave Theobald

The sites below explain how Paul Cox covers seats. Probably a lot more info than you need as it explains making the pan etc. But it is a good place to start. Dave http://www.bikernet.com/garage/coxseat.asp http://www.bikernet.com/garage/coxseat2.asp

Hey Shirley, How has business been going? Good to hear from you again, Dave

MMM......High End Flip Flops..... You could call yourself.... Phillipe Phillop...... Dave Theobald

Buisness has been good, maybe down a bit from last year, but still keeps me very busy. David Theobald