copying someones design

[leatheroo]

a quick question...is it OK to copy someones design if i am only going to keep it for myself and not sell the finished product?

[Rayban]

quick answer: yes.

Is is copy righted, trade mark showing?? No....? It's yours.

[Art]

Hi Roo,

Yes, but upon your death you must leave it with some aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders with expressed instructions that it never be sold.

Art

a quick question...is it OK to copy someones design if i am only going to keep it for myself and not sell the finished product?

[Windy]

If you want to ask a legal question you should ask

a lawyer not a leather worker wannabe lawyer. A

couple of years ago while taking a class on pottery.

A guy was making plates with the University of

Cincinnati and University of Kentucky logos. He

was donating them to a charity auction. Well

someone ask if this was legal.After everyone who

was not a lawyer gave him conflicting advice ,he

called the University of Cincinnati. He ask them if

he was allowed to make the plates with their logo.

He said that they said "no" he was not allowed to

use their logo even for his own personal use or

any others not even charity. Then he said they

would OK it this time. Now this is all coming from

him since I was not the one making the call. Once

again I would tell you to call a lawyer when you

want legal advice and call a leather worker when

you want leather advice. I am sure you will get

ten answers saying yes you can and ten saying

no you can not.Just remember where the advice

is coming from.

WINDY ... Not a lawyer not do I play one on www.leatherworker.net

[Rayban]

You don't have to be a lawyer to know that university logos are trademarked, therefor, shouldn't be copied.

You don't have to be a lawyer to have common sense either.

[Johanna]

It may not be illegal to use someone's design without their permisssion, but I would ask anyway, if for no other reason than to be polite. I've seen friendships ruined because of someone using a design without having the courtesy to ask.

Johanna

[8thsinner]

I would agree with Johanna here on this, and also offer that taking inspiration from something is the pretty definition of innovation, but like every moral dilemma there is a line.

Thinking more about it, when learning something, It's always better to copy so that you can compare your result to the professionals, I say this only because I will probably be looking to copy a few works of carving soon in order to work out my own design for my belt.

[Tina]

Hi all,

I found a really easy page to read about copyright From the US copyright office:

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#mywork

To make it more than easy:

An artists work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

If you have not payed in and registered the copyright you can not enforce penalty fees and lawyers fees but as an artist you Always own your original art and it should never be copied without permission.

I had to edit some...You can legally copy art if the artist have been dead for more than 50-75-100 years, different in different parts of the world.

Edited November 21, 2008 by Tina

[Dags3777]

Hi Roo,

Yes, but upon your death you must leave it with some aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders with expressed instructions that it never be sold.

Art

Classis, a man after my own heart. Darryl

[Elegant]

a quick question...is it OK to copy someones design if i am only going to keep it for myself and not sell the finished product?

Honor and integrity are key factors.

I discovered this very site when a friend let me know that someone here had posted a pic of one of my custom items and was wanting input from other members on how to make it themselves (for a family member who did not want to pay my price evidently).

Edited November 21, 2008 by Elegant

[ttownfire]

Another quick answer: YES!!!

Saying NO here is like saying; you can't make shoes because so many other companies already make shoes. I say go for it!

This is not a moral compass issue either. Those that try to make it a moral compass issue have something to gain either directly or indirectly... which is akin to protectionism and protectionism has never really worked; ask Thomas Edison.

[ArtS]

In my opinion, which is long a legal opinion, if you are not making it for profit and only doing one for yourself I wouldn't worry about it. They will not bother to come after you. If however you are making it for profit you better get permission in writing.

As in art work there is also a fuzzy line. If you are not making an exact copy you may be ok. Again, I'm no lawyer. It's kinda like it's against the law to go over the speed limit but they're not going to pull you over for one or two miles over the speed limit but they could. It's your risk.

If I were making it for myself I probably would go for it.

Art

[SamTexas]

After reading all the replies, I am reminded of such leather masters as Chan Geer, Jim Linnell, and George Hurst. I have had the pleasure of being around these men and seeing how they react when copies of their patterns are being used in contests or items for sale. And these folks do get copied on a regular basis and I'm not talking about patterns or projects that were sold in a book or from a paid class. To a man they are delighted that someone has used their patterns or designs in a project. These men even give folks a lot of their patterns to experiment on. Their reactions go along with the old saying "imitation is the most sincere for of flattery". One of our goals as leather crafters should be to share what we have learned with others and therefore teach by our examples.

Having said all that, I do have a problem when someone copies a pattern then claims it as their own. They should give credit where credit is due. Don't be ashamed to admit that you borrowed a pattern from this crafter or that crafter, or you used a basic pattern from whomever and added your own style to it. That shows that you had the good taste to use a proven crafter as your inspiration. If it's something that is a persons livelihood, by all mean it would be proper to ask.

Just remember, when you put something out there on the internet, it becomes fair game for anyone who wants to copy it, whether we like it or not. There are and always will be people out there without any morals at all.

Well, there's my 2 1/2 cents worth.

Sam Texas

[ArtS]

Also remember that many of these designs that the old masters are doing are adaptions of designs that they learned or saw when they were learning. Those people adapted from designs that they saw and so on going back. Thats how this craft grows and flows. I agree that you should give credit where credit is due.

Art

[tonyc1]

And they do say that "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery"

Tony.

[Elegant]

After reading all the replies, I am reminded of such leather masters as Chan Geer, Jim Linnell, and George Hurst. I have had the pleasure of being around these men and seeing how they react when copies of their patterns are being used in contests or items for sale. And these folks do get copied on a regular basis and I'm not talking about patterns or projects that were sold in a book or from a paid class. To a man they are delighted that someone has used their patterns or designs in a project. These men even give folks a lot of their patterns to experiment on. Their reactions go along with the old saying "imitation is the most sincere for of flattery". One of our goals as leather crafters should be to share what we have learned with others and therefore teach by our examples.

.......

Just remember, when you put something out there on the internet, it becomes fair game for anyone who wants to copy it, whether we like it or not. There are and always will be people out there without any morals at all.

Putting pics of products on the internet does have it's drawbacks. But if there is contact information with or on the pic then one should make contact with the artist so that we can share our methods.