For discussion

[AndyFettes]

A thread on another model website got me thinking,..so I`ll raise it here to discuss,..

Making a resin or plaster copy of something that you`ve purchased that you are going to use for personal and not commercial gain !

copyrighting piracy or not, or purely a matter of ethics.............. your views please ?!!

 

[panzerace007]

ANDY,

Well .... If you buy it & you recast it ... Not for personal gain. Then I say cast away. !! IF I buy a Dragon kit & it has tools that have no clasps , is it wrong for Me to re-cast it over & over so I can have Tools that I can add P.E. clasps to ? I would say not. As long as I don't try to resell th casting... I say Rock-On Cast away !!

Now ... technically ... It's copy-right infringement , but as long as I'm not trying to sell it as My Own .. Then it's not a crime & I'm not doing a disservice to the original manufacturer. I don't find any problem with recasting any thing that I have payed for.

I have a problem with people selling recasts !! I've seen it from th Far East on Evil-Bay & They( E-Bay) do nothing about it, Which is hard for Me to stomach. But US as Modelers do a pretty good job notifying each other of Forgers !

So, I say Cast Away ... for Private gain !!! Meaning that you & Only You use th recast !!

 

[Sharkmouth]

In the US, it is copyright infringement even if you do not sell it. The damage is from hindering sales to the company so even giving copies away for free means that the recipients won't be buying from the copyright holder.

Copying the part for personal use and not giving it away is usually given a blind eye.

Regards,

 

[jknaus]

No matter how a person rationalizes it recastng is wrong. Your taking money away from the producer. But everyone seems to turn a blind eye to the practice when its for personal use. Recasting for profit is absolutely wrong. I think a perfect analogy is knicking a few grapes or cherries while shopping. Thats wrong, but people do it to "try the flavour" or "check the freshness" before buying. Yet we all agree that taking the produce and reselling it as stuff you've grown is outright fraud and theft. I guess its up to each and every ones conscience when it comes to copying that one little piece, or figure, or whatever.

James

 

[moon puppy]

I never cast anything so I don't have to deal with the moral issue. But I agree with Saul on this, it's a clear copy right infringement. I see it as you purchase one license of software but install it on all your computers in your house.

 

[Bagge]

just a thought, how is it for those who sculpt a figure and maybe use the hands from a copyrighted product or an after-market head, can they make copies of that figur and sell it as their own? :hmmm
Making a copy of a part for to use it yourself i find ok, but not for selling.
//Mats

 

[Sharkmouth]

Hi Mats,

Since copyright laws differ from country to country, you will need to find out from the one you reside in.

In the US, there is a stipulation that is the product is modified to a certain extent (if I recall correctly it was 30%) then it can be sold. So using the hands and head of an existing figure may be less than the 70% needed to sue for copyright infringement.

Regards,

 

[AndyFettes]

Ok let me firstly explain that I am not intending to cast anything,.. right now,..

Purely wanted to gauge reaction of what was put up on another site and the responses that post got were quite extreme so added this here to have a good old discussion on it

Ok how about this,...

Someone buys a kit,.. and we`ll say that the road wheels need updating so you add a bolt here and there and maybe an air valve and even add the tyre manufacturer name

Then you recast the wheel in resin for example,to gain 4... and then again recast the wheel to gain a spare tyre or wheel that you will use either on the kit or in a dio.

Now is that ethically or morally wrong ?

 

[Bagge]

i don't think so, as long as it's not for selling the pieces.
You save alot of work by doing that, making one wheel instead of five!

 

[Sharkmouth]

Someone buys a kit,.. and we`ll say that the road wheels need updating so you add a bolt here and there and maybe an air valve and even add the tyre manufacturer name

Then you recast the wheel in resin for example,to gain 4... and then again recast the wheel to gain a spare tyre or wheel that you will use either on the kit or in a dio.

This is what many AM producers do now. Some say it is to avoid the decay of rubber on styrene wheels and so on. Truth be told, the copyright holder, the kit manufacturer, is not bothered by this infringement (and it IS copyright infringement) since it does not hinder, only compliments, their sale. Without the base kit, the wheel set is not useful.

Regards,

 

[moon puppy]

I think if you make enough change to it, game's on. Maybe I should learn how to cast, may solve that symmetry issue I have.

 

[Ken Abrams]

I have the FineMolds 1/72 scale Millennium Falcon, it was given to me already half done and it is missing two seats from the cockpit.

The only way for me to finish this kit, is to have my friend cast replacements for me from the ones that are in the kit. Technically it's copyright infringement but I can't complete the kit without doing so and I really don't have many other options. This kit sells for around a cool $300.00 and I'm not going to buy one to get replacememnts.

:pp

I guess it's like burning a CD for my wife to have a copy of in her car, the record company wants me to purchase a second CD but my computer has a CD burner in it so...

 

[moon puppy]

I guess it boils down to what the law would say about it. Would anyone go after Ken and try and make a case for what he's doing?

 

[Sharkmouth]

I have the FineMolds 1/72 scale Millennium Falcon, it was given to me already half done and it is missing two seats from the cockpit.

The only way for me to finish this kit, is to have my friend cast replacements for me from the ones that are in the kit. Technically it's copyright infringement but I can't complete the kit without doing so and I really don't have many other options.

This goes back to what I wrote before when casting parts to complete a kit (I used wheels as an example). The casting of the seats does not impinge on Fine Molds' ability to sell the kit so they won't go after it.

Regards,

 

[Cheyenne]

Sorry , but I already paid [ sometimes a lot of money ] , for a kit , .......... in Ken's case etc. .......... a part is missing or broken , I would lose sleep over casting my own off a friends kit that has the part I need .

Monetary gain by selling cast offs is wrong , casting something for my hobby at my bench is fine with me .

Soooo do I buy a whole other kit to get the piece I need , ......... whoa , wait a minute , ......... now I need to buy another kit to replace that part , .......... I feel like a rat in a maze ...............

It's illeagel to get drunk and run around naked playing with firecrackers , ........... but if I do it in my house , and don't try and sell videos of it ............

 

[moon puppy]

It's illeagel to get drunk and run around naked playing with firecrackers , ........

What?? Where?

 

[Iron Mike]

If you cast a part for your own future use, you are the only person who knows. If you can live with that, then go for it. Now let me get back to my pirated copy of "Hangover 2"! Arrg!

 

[Iron Mike]

If you cast a part for your own future use, you are the only person who knows. If you can live with that, then go for it. Now let me get back to my pirated copy of "Hangover 2"! Arrg!

Not really, that was just a joke, seriously!

 

[AndyFettes]

 

[moon puppy]

If you cast a part for your own future use, you are the only person who knows. If you can live with that, then go for it. Now let me get back to my pirated copy of "Hangover 2"! Arrg!

Not really, that was just a joke, seriously!

Burn me a copy of that joke, I'll pick it up Sat... arrgg...