Who makes a good scimitar?
Aug 21, 2012 18:27:30 GMT
Post by Anders on Aug 21, 2012 18:27:30 GMT
Elheru Aran wrote
Anders, to some degree that's true, but there are some differences between cars and swords-- for one thing, cars tend to follow a uniform fashion and then there are the demands of aerodynamics, which doesn't change. Swords on the other hand can vary much more, although I'll grant you that to the unacquainted one XII might look pretty much the same as another XII.
Anders, to some degree that's true, but there are some differences between cars and swords-- for one thing, cars tend to follow a uniform fashion and then there are the demands of aerodynamics, which doesn't change. Swords on the other hand can vary much more, although I'll grant you that to the unacquainted one XII might look pretty much the same as another XII.
Meh. Swords also have certain physical demands that affect their design - I think we all know by now that when it comes to good sword designs, form follows function. And it's not like there aren't different types of cars. A lot of them are just made similarly to produce the best performance of its type and intended use, which is exactly how Oakeshott types work as well.
What I mean is, as far as copyright law is concerned, the requirements for variation in production sword design isn't really going to be more demanding than it is for car design, or laptop design, or any other industrial commodity.
The line between what is 'artistic interpretation' and 'counterfeiting' can be very thin indeed,
Yeah, but that's why we have legal definitions of what counterfeiting actually is - so counterfeiters can't hide behind some "artistic interpretation" excuse. We're talking about a literal crime here, not some sort of subjective social faux pas. Either you are guilty of the crime of countertfeiting or you are not.
so most manufacturers won't touch other people's designs. If you make something yourself, that's different; you don't make any profit from it. Paying someone else to make an extremely similar design to another manufacturer crosses the line. It's the money that counts.
Actually, you are wrong about that. Copyright infringement has nothing to do with money - it is literally what it sounds like: the crime of infringing on the right to copy a work. Sure, these laws exists to allow creators to earn money on their works exclusively, but the definition of the crime isn't "preventing people from making money," or "making money off other people's stuff" but rather "making a copy of something that you are not allowed to copy."
This is an important distinction because it means that if you make an exact copy of something that you don't own the copyright of, you are commiting a crime, period, and profit doesn't factor into it at all.
But this is probably kind of a moot point because if the sword you have made is only similar to the original design, having enough variation to be distinct, I believe it would actually be classed as a derivative work.
