Copyright

lizzienewell

Well-Known Member
I've been designing models and would like to sell them as kits and as completed models. Most of my design work is of the support structure for spheres which I then use to model planets. For the skin I've been icosahedral maps designed as card models by Calvin J Hamilton. These have no support structure.
http://solarviews.com/eng/ico.htm
I find a lack of support structure for cardmodels to be unsatisfying because there's nothing solid to press against when glueing joints.
How do I handle the copyright issue? I'd like to credit Calvin Hamilton and compensate him by either paying or sending people to his website.
I can't just send people to the website for the skins because they take some modification in order to work over a sphere. I'm going to have to get the images of moons and planets from some place regardless of where that is. And that means I need to know how to give credit and compensation for use of those images.
 

zathros

*****SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR*****
Staff member
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Well, first, on this forum everything has to be for free, however what you sell in P.M.'s is your business. You will have one heck of a time trying to copyright any geometric shape, regardless of what you put on it, and a 10% change in the model, undoes your copyright. There is no money in this hobby, just fun and self satisfaction. I am not a lawyer, but what I have gleaned from the fields over the last 15 years is "forgetaboutit". Think about it, "Fiddler's Green" basically took Halinski models, dumb them down, less parts, and sold them as their own. That should say it all. If you put a template out there, you are throwing it to the wind.

Different with literature though. You could post a bit of a novel you have copyrighted, and no one could touch it. Words are still more powerful than pictures. You may have to ask yourself this question, "How can you copyright a Geometric shape?", or the supports inside? I could bang out such a thing in a very short time. There's a certain reality to this Hobby. I don't wish to be harsh. Selling a finished product has more potential, as people don't wish to take what they buy apart, they want to keep it whole.. I would go that route, you get more money for hand made things anyway.

I'd like to see the story about the skips and ground effect craft. I think you really have something there. It was quite fascinating to me. :)

This is just my opinion and I could be full of sh*t. It's always possible. Follow your heart. :)
 
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