"using designs"... theft or motivation?


Recommended Posts

2 minutes ago, Mike. said:

Sure its a nice thing to do but even if the guy says "no", if you are building for your own use with no intent of selling it you have nothing to worry about.    

I am going to stay out of this convo because 1) I am going through a couple legal battles of my own right now I am sick of lawyers and 2) I can promise you no one on this board is an IP attorney, so anything legal sounding is total conjecture.   But at most this would be a civil, not criminal, offense so its not like the cops are going to come knocking. 

Not a lawyer at all but I'm a professional human.  If someone asked me,  I think I'd be pretty honored. Goodwill begets goodwill.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Mike. said:

Sure its a nice thing to do but even if the guy says "no", if you are building for your own use with no intent of selling it you have nothing to worry about.    

I am going to stay out of this convo because 1) I am going through a couple legal battles of my own right now I am sick of lawyers and 2) I can promise you no one on this board is an IP attorney, so anything legal sounding is total conjecture.   But at most this would be a civil, not criminal, offense so its not like the cops are going to come knocking. 

My condolences on having to speak with lawyers on a frequent basis.

It depends on the nature of borrowed and if the design was covered under a filed copyright. Odds are in furniture you're going to be borrowing someone's design one way or another. The whole freedom of speech can go a long way if you just call it art they won't have too much of a leg to stand on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't bother asking, I just build it.  If I had plans to sell something it would be a totally different story.  I'm not an IP attorney, but I absolutely guarantee you run no risk by copying someone else's project for your own personal use in your own home.  That would be like getting sued for playing the intro to Stairway to Heaven in your living room in your underwear.  No one is looking, no one will know, no one will care.  Build.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are just inspired by a design and do not try to duplicate it you should be fine. If you alter the dimensions to suit your needs that's even less likely to cause any trouble. Selling the piece or plans will get you in trouble. I wouldn't even give the plans away. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course you're talking about furniture and nice stuff like that, and I just make craft show crap to sell mainly haha, but some a-hole online was using a picture I took of something I made and was in my house and trying to sell it online.  Now, the item wasn't something nice or expensive, still pissed me off someone would just use a picture they didn't take or make and try to sell it to people as their own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Mike. said:

doesn't help that I am married to one. 

Does she win every argument 2 fold then?

 

43 minutes ago, Dknapp34 said:

I'm also married to a lawyer...and so is my wife.  We're the first to admit that lawyers are pretty terrible.

Meh it's probably good that your kind sticks together :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dknapp34 said:

That will be $300 an hour and I require a retainer.

Two lawyers for $300/hour sounds like a great deal. 

$6-800 an hour is about median I've heard of. A client of mine is a civil trial lawyer,  I like what he makes but could never afford him. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dad and I ran a business building poptop campervans. One of the larger companies (PleasureWay) took one of our vans from somewhere, brought it into their shop and took direct molds of our fiberglass roof parts and came out with their own model. We talked to a lawyer about it, and he said it would cost us way over 6 figures, and we might not even ever see anything from it.

 

Bottom line is its really hard to defend a design/shape. Expensive. Don't be a dick and you'll probably be fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Mike. said:

I need to hire you!. The cheaper of the two lawyers I looked at is $580 an hour (the other guy was $750).  I hired the $580 guy and he already used up his retainer :(

 

12 hours ago, Brendon_t said:

Two lawyers for $300/hour sounds like a great deal. 

$6-800 an hour is about median I've heard of. A client of mine is a civil trial lawyer,  I like what he makes but could never afford him. 

It all depends on where you are.  When I was working at a big firm in NYC fresh out of law school, my rate was $500+.  Nearly 10 years of experience later, my rate is only $300, because I'm in a smaller market.  If I had stayed in NYC, my rate would probably be in the $700-800 range by now.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.