Is it legal to sell built free downloaded paper models?

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burneggroll

New Member
Great discussion. Good points raised by all.
Is it legal to sell built free downloaded paper models?
Are we talking about selling the plans, or the product built from the plans?
Selling copies of free plans is obviously wrong.

If I built a real car to look like the The Dukes of Hazzard's General Lee could I sell it?
http://www.google.com/search?q=general+lee+car+for+sale
Why would you think building & selling a model car would be any different?

What if I built a real house from free plans? What if I bought the plans? It doesn't make any difference. I can sell the house, no matter how big the house is. Selling the house built from the plans is ok.

IMHO: Including the 'free' plans is thinking backwards. The 'free' plans become part of the sale and that makes it wrong.

Selling copied music and/or movies is different. It willfully, wantonly, and intentionally deprives someone of rightful income. It does harm. That is actionable theft. Those persons should be sent to "that special place in Hell reserved for child molesters and people who talk in movie theaters."

My 2-cent rant...
* Do no evil. Do no harm. Copyright is my right to copy. True art cannot be copyrighted. Copies are good. Fakes, frauds, forgeries, and counterfeits are bad. Misrepresentation is a sin. The law is different everywhere. The 'law' is not always moral, ethical, or right.

*quoted from a Shepard Book line in the tv series "Firefly"
BTW - EULA is a poor example. No higher court, anywhere in the world, has ruled any such 'agreement' as enforceable.
 
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pqkawara

No... I'm afraid that it's not as simple as that. Selling a built model IS a legal problem. I'm afraid that Chris is quite wrong here.

Allow me to explain. By selling the model you are obtaining financial gain. You are obtaining that financial gain from the use of someone else's copyright design. While it is true that you are obtaining some of that financial gain from your own work this does not make it legal to sell that model. Unless the designer or copyright owner has given specific consent for that.

Otherwise, in the same way, A Pirate could sell a whole disk of commercial and free models claiming that he was only selling the work he had done in compiling them onto a disk.

As you can see from this.... This is not as simple as the question first appeared to be.

However, it is so unlikely that any prosecution would be brought from such a sale, that you may as well go ahead and buy them. It's really a matter for your own personal choice.

As a legal technicality, there is a problem with doing it. But nobody is going to waste time chasing down something like that, where there is little if any prospect of a financial return for doing so.

Best Wishes,
Bspline.
I don't agree. When you sell a built model, free download or purchased kit, you are seeking compensation for your time, labor and the cost of materials. I absolutely do not see an issue here.
 

sorcerer1089

New Member
Commission for UHU02's Samaritan

I have been working on building Uhu02's Samaritan for the past few months, but the time to work on it has just not been there. I would like to know, if I compensate for time and material, if someone might like to take on this project for me. If there is a better thread to put this question out, I will gladly move it there.
Thanks

P.S. I know this approaches the edged of the rules laid out here http://www.zealot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=167633, but I think it is still in safe territory. If a mod deems otherwise, then the request is withdrawn.
 

Azurial

New Member
once a company releases something to the public they can not tell you how you are allowed to use it. Example - an artist puts out a CD and you buy it, copy it and post it online some where. once it is in your possesion you can do with that CD what you want. same goes with DVDs games and so on. Of course its questionable as to the content that you are uploading, selling or giving away otherwise.
 

cgutzmer

Well-Known Member
If thats the case Azurial why dont you try posting a bunch of movies and dvd's online then dropping the FBI a line and let them know you are the person that shared them all out. Please be sure to include your IP address and such for easy tracing. See if they feel the same way :) please let us know how it turns out!

Unless of course I misunderstand your statement which is possible!
Chris
 

mikehazard

New Member
its legal to do whatever you want with the physical cd but not the content it contains the content can be put on your computer as backup legally but not posted online.
 

alienhunger

New Member
If GW doesn't give a flying peanut about pep's I'd sell my behn bleds for a buck and 3 Leman Russ for 2 and play pretend on infantries so Warhammer 40K would at least have a fanbase here in the Philippines :/

...I don't think they'd like that.
 

Hamerskib

New Member
Newbie

Good day
I may be completely wrong, but here is my point of view:
- The designer sells a product in flat, graphic form. The developments works and graphics belongs to him. It is important, that he sells it as a model (to be worked and modified, adding intellectual and physical content).
- To make a copy (CD, scan, color copy etc.) and to distribute as it is without designer agreement is certainly an infringement.
- When you make the model, you modify it on a unique way. Two models made even by the same person will not be exactly the same.
Making the model you destroy the original designer work making it impossible to copy later by the new owner (protecting designer property).
Sale represents payment for additional work of the maker, materials and his skills independent of those of the designer. In this sense the designer work is not sold anymore, but something containing it, in a small part.
- It is important, that giving or selling the model designer authorizes to make it, so to modify it without his personal implication. Total work does not belongs to him anymore.
- At the moment of sale the designer should specify, that any modification of his works is forbidden in order to make the sale illegal, which is a nonsense because this forbids the making of the model.
- Only touchy part is when the model contains a corporation logo. This should be left separate, leaving to the new order to dispose of.

From my part I would anyways asked for permission if the model is free.
"Par politesse".

B. Hamerski
 

Vince

Member
I guess it's a good thing that I don't have enough talent to make models someone would want to buy!
 
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Zathros

The guy in post #70 makes one contentious post, and disappears, TROLL!! :). I think I'm going to close this thread.
 
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Zathros

It's all been said, if you have a comment, read this thread, say your comment to your self, then move on to something else.


Thread Closed :)
 

EdMaz

New Member
Great topic of discussion. I would say that if you buy the plans, your homefree. Start cutting and folding. Otherwise you are out of luck. It is kinda like stealing an idea from someone and making money on it.

Sorry, missed the above post. Remove this if you want. I do not see a delete when I am in edit
 
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Zathros

Geez, I must of have closed the Thread, without actually closing that Thread!!, Don't worry about it Ed.
 

lons fede

Active Member
I was showing a guy at work some pictures of my models the other day and he asked why I don't sell them... As much as I'd love to make money from them I don't think I could part with them after all that time and effort.

But ahh, yeah, back on topic like Chris said there's nothing wrong with buying or selling a model once it's been built, no matter where it came from.

I totally understand you. It is very difficult to get rid of them.
But in my case, since I run out of space, I give them to the children of the nursery near my house. They love them.
This facilitates the separation of the armed models.

I agree that there is nothing wrong with buying or selling a model once it has been built
 
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