give me your opinion on what you think about this

[ljones]

i don't expect to get a dependable "LEGAL" answer here,   but i am going to put it out there for discussion anyway , say for instance taxidermist "A" finds a really unique looking rock on the side of the road and decides to cast it and make copies, then a bunch of other taxidermists like the rock so taxidermist "A" sells them by the hundreds he is making a nice living selling his fake rocks, then taxidermist "B" buys one of the fake rocks and  wants to make  copies only smaller so the cuts taxidermists "A" rock down a little to the size that he wants,   cast it and makes his own copies, then all the other taxidermists like taxidermists "B" rock better and start buying it buy the hundreds ,   So here's what i would like to know,  has  any law been broken or is it just boil down to a  right or wrong thing to do, again i am only talking about casting objects occurring in "NATURE" rocks ,tree limbs, horns,  antlers ,catus etc. . are any of you aware of any legal precedent where lawyers were involved on this type matter involving taxidermists , and please don't tell me about the Dan chase mess from years ago, he was casting & selling other taxidermists & suppliers "ORGINAL SCULPTURE" objects

[Kerby Ross]

If I buy some repro foam rock (4 x 8 sheet) and cut it up and make my own rock base/ledge with it....and I like what I created......then I can mold that unique looking rock ledge that I created and make more and sell them.


Legally speaking.



Kerby...

[Heck]

Even with a copyright, only rock "A" is copyrighted. Soon as a change is made, any change,.. shape, color, texture ANYTHING...your copyright is out the window. Say you copy right a bolt, 1/2 inch X 3 bolt. Someone buys your bolt, cuts 1/8 inch off that bolt they can now copy, sell and copyright their "New" 1/2 X 2 7/8 bolt...    vicious circle!!

[J P Baker]

If it is cast from nature you can not put a copyright on it. IF you make a cast then change it to make it your original. Then remold it for sale then it is yours and you can copyright it.

 All this B.S. about changing someones cast 10% and now it's theirs, is pure B.S. The law basically says that you can not start with someone's original to make your own.

[dc240nt]

Is it legal to purchase a giant 5x5 whitetail replica, remove the g4's from purchased replica, mold the 4x4 and resale that? I think this is exactly what ljones is asking? Im curious to know that answer also.

[Jknuth]

The same question could be asked of replica fish.
If one were to take a fish blank purchased from company X and put your own fins on it then remold and sell the blanks from that mold... what do you think the answer is there?
From all the research I have done it is Illegal to take a copyrighted Item then alter one small thing then remold and sell.
Using the logic of "Alter it to make it legal" I also ask about DVD's of movies.
If I were to make a copy of a movie and add a small dark line at the bottom and perhaps change one line in the credits could I resell the DVDs?
Obviously not.

[dc240nt]

When I registered my business logo and name with the trademark office, the certificate said that nobody could use it "or its likeness" w/o my permission.
Is copywrite infringement the same as trademark infringement?

[J P Baker]

The same question could be asked of replica fish.
If one were to take a fish blank purchased from company X and put your own fins on it then remold and sell the blanks from that mold... what do you think the answer is there?
From all the research I have done it is Illegal to take a copyrighted Item then alter one small thing then remold and sell.

Well, Yes and No. Does company X have a legal copyright on the fish blank in the first place?  Is it his "Original Works"

What does copyright protect?
Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.

Copying something( molding a fish, antlers, rock and so on) is not your "Original Work" so you can not copyright something from nature. If you sculpt it or a portion of it then mold you can put a copyright on your  "artistic works".