copyrights

[gav the welder]

hi guys long time no see

well been busy tryin to set up a little business while trying to find a job
and going to college aswell . whilst completing my 6th city and guilds
qual in 12 months


any ways some one has contacted me and asked if i can make something simmilar to a registered / copyrighted design now im no lawyer and im sure none of you lot are . but i would appreciate any and all help please as i dont really wanna get me ass sued lol before ive even started

thanks in advance
gav

 

[Pete.]

If it's copyrighted then I think you're asking for trouble. I would get them to send you a drawing with their name on it so the responsibility is theirs.

 

[brightspark]

hi guys long time no see

well been busy tryin to set up a little business while trying to find a job
and going to college aswell . whilst completing my 6th city and guilds
qual in 12 months


any ways some one has contacted me and asked if i can make something simmilar to a registered / copyrighted design now im no lawyer and im sure none of you lot are . but i would appreciate any and all help please as i dont really wanna get me ass sued lol before ive even started

thanks in advance
gav[/QUOTE is it a one off or on show ?and how simlar to the registered design

 

[gav the welder]

hi bright spark well it will probably be a one off

but mine will be a bit of a different shape as the registered / copyrighted 1

http://www.petsugar.com/1586098

here is the original 1 but i was going to alter it slightly and make it more oval shaped rather than round and also have the wires joined differently at the bottom , also a different door design

 

[the snooper]

if your design will be different i wouldnt worry its only a cage not an invention where by someone could claim you stole their idea.

 

[brightspark]

i dont know anyone elses opinion. just get it made and sold dont let on. its not as if u are advertising it

 

[runnach]

Looked into this a good while back, copyright dive computer cover I use to make, If memory serves me well, my gear was al/al with white nylon dipped covering, whole unit could be 100% recycled. Spoke to those in the no, yes I could take out a copyright, keep a few at bay for a while, BUT nothing can legally be done if a company made same out out clear plastic, which indeed did happen, nevertheless, I made hay while the sun shined. Got about 3 years worldwide sales before UWATEC saw the potential and supplied new dive comps with clear perspex covers included in normal price.

From what I recall, copyright is not as good at the normal person on the street thinks, of course this will depend on copyrighted component. I should add, big companies can afford good lawyers.

Cheers..........


http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/album.php?albumid=720&pictureid=599

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

I'd simply copy it with a couple of mods, as you suggested.

It's not the sort of thing you could sell in any quantity so you'll probably get away with it, but as suggested above if you work off the customers own drawings of it then you don't know where the design came from.

Regards
Peter

 

[gav the welder]

thanks for your help guys i really appreciate it
its just when it comes to things like that there is that much info to read about on the net
its a bloody mindfield ( gives me a head ache )

once again guys
thanks

 

[pidgeon chit welder]

hi bright spark well it will probably be a one off

but mine will be a bit of a different shape as the registered / copyrighted 1

http://www.petsugar.com/1586098

here is the original 1 but i was going to alter it slightly and make it more oval shaped rather than round and also have the wires joined differently at the bottom , also a different door design

I thought copyright was only applicable to the written word whereas patents and registered design are applicable to items

There is a very similar wire cage to that in the chamber of horrors in York ..they used them to strap rats onto people and let them eat their way out so I doubt that the design is patented , it may be a registered design so any similar ones would have to include many exact copy points.


Changing the design to suit your needs would I think take you out of that arena

I also seem to recall that to infringe any of the rights you have to be selling the item .

Obviously you cannot quote me in a court of law etc. if it concerns you that much .. see if you can get a 1/2 hr free with a solicitor in that area or visit the CAB .

Looking on line may take you to the solicitors net advice / scenarios ...I found one on property and got some excellent advice that saved me a lot of money .... all for free .

 

[peterd51]

Hi,

the danger with asking too many questions is that you might get to know the answer.

Do it as a one-off and say 'sorry I didn't know' afterwards and you're more than likely to get away with it.

Regards
Peter

 

[Iain Westland]

never fear about copying something. Do it daily and the company will come knocking, do it once and the costs would be greater than the loss so the company wont pursue you

iain

off topic slightly, but kinda sorta related

i belong to a diy music forum, we were working out how to do a piece of equipment when the manufacturer popped up and told us in no uncertain terms that our units must not resemble his in looks or name, he also told us that the mistake we had picked up on and corrected actually helped toward the units characteristic sound. He went on to help quite a lot in the design. helped keep the unit 'near enough' but still not quite as esoteric as his.

 

[Shox Dr]

never fear about copying something. Do it daily and the company will come knocking, do it once and the costs would be greater than the loss so the company wont pursue you

iain

off topic slightly, but kinda sorta related

i belong to a diy music forum, we were working out how to do a piece of equipment when the manufacturer popped up and told us in no uncertain terms that our units must not resemble his in looks or name, he also told us that the mistake we had picked up on and corrected actually helped toward the units characteristic sound. He went on to help quite a lot in the design. helped keep the unit 'near enough' but still not quite as esoteric as his.

The company didn't start with the letter "M" did it

 

[Iain Westland]

no, a real company that does recreations of some old compressors, especially using germanium products, could be a character from friends...

 

[big_d]

Copyright, Designright, Registered Designs

Folks,
My last job I had the dubious privilige of having to know a bit about this.

1. Copyright is only applicable to the written word in any storage media (electronic, paper, carved in stone etc). It is also applicable to computer software. Since music is written down, copyright is extended to cover music. Copyright is automatic (i.e. this post would be my copyright if I can prove I wrote it); you don't need to apply to get a copyright.

2. Designright. This is formal recognition that a design is yours and again, if you can prove that it is your own creation no-one can stop you using it (unless it is very similar to an existing registered design).

3. Registered Design. One of the most famous registerd design is the Coke bottle. This is registered with patent offices around the world and woe betide anyone who fancies copying this design. It is usually only applied for fairly important / significant products and most corporations don't bother.

Re copying a hamster cage or similar. If you are being contracted to build one item there should be no problem; it is a one off and not being offered for general sale. If however, you have an order for 100 units, AND it is obviously a copy of a leading brand you should be careful. However, your contract to supply the units does not place you liable; it is the act of selling them to end customers that will attract the original owner's interest.

Finally, there is a cease and desist order which the original registered design owner must raise to get you to stop. Although the Coke bottle is very well known, imagine you made 100 samples of a welded aluminium bottle copied from the Coke bottle for a soda manufacturer and you didn't know the Coke bottle existed. [Unusually, ignorance of the existance of the registered design is a defence] It is unlikely that Coke would even notice for several months; however if they were on the ball, Coke would need to inform you that you have infringed their design and you must stop production (cease and desist).
On receipt, you must stop production as you now know you are infringing another design; if you don't things get pretty painful.

So, back to your question; if it for a single copy based upon an existing design of of a hamster cage via a contract from a third party you should be ok. However, if the 'twit' handed you a page from a catalogue and said 'I want a copy of that cage' you should be careful; you (or more likely they)can no longer plead ignorance.

So, there you go.... now you know !!!!! (really tedious isn't it!!)

 

[Shox Dr]

There is another question that no one has asked!!!


If it was YOUR design, that someone else was copying how would you feel.

 

[gav the welder]

There is another question that no one has asked!!!


If it was YOUR design, that someone else was copying how would you feel.

well all i can say s if it was a design that had cost me a lot of money to develop , produce i would be annoyed

but after all it is only a cage isnt it
to be totally honest i personaly cant see how you can copy a cage maybe the way it is produced or the way it operates but apart from that ???
its a bit like a card board box really

 

[the snooper]

if the cage has differences like you stated it would then i dont think there will be any copyright issues as it wouldnt be an exact copy

 

[Iain Westland]

if somebody copied it for personal use then fair enough, they would not have bought off me. but if somboy started producing them I would send the boy around for a quiet word