"Copyright law" Topic

Hi

First and foremost I am not at all personally condoning the reproduction of other peoples work or property, protected or otherwise.

Lots of mention of copyright on tmp with nothing to back it up (guilty!) so here are a few links. (cant get the uk working for me, so I can't comment there).

Aus

link

US

uspto.gov

UK

Intellectual property office, as it won't work for me, look it up your self.

It seems a lot of people think copyright on a 3d object is a free gift from god. (Perhaps in the UK?) However in Australia it clearly is not. 2d works, or movie of music are automatically covered. A sculpture is not. You have to pay fees to have it covered by copyright. A shape TradeMark may also apply here, although it may have to be being used and a, well, trademark.

I can't find info about sculpture in US, I would guess it would be a patent??? Though that seems wrong as patents are designs of machines, processes so on.

Anyone who can find the UK, US law, please post a link. I would be interested in reading it.

As for companies shooting with a Cease and desist gun, I am not sure how that one works. A picture of a "big scary monster" is copyright (in OZ), but I would assume (fatal mistake), that you would have to have coverage for the exact shape of the offending miniature, which would be impossible as it did not exist before. I can only see C and Ds scaring people off with legal fees and that it would take a courts personal take on the situation to see anyone successfully sued. Am I wrong??? Let us know!

PS

Was going to post on wargaming uk. But after choosing wargaming usa, it would not show the other counties as options. Apologies and I hope I have not limited it to a US audience.

UK:
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
link

USPTO does not cover copyrights. Its full name, United States Patent and Trademark Office, states the areas it regulates.

The Copyright Office regulates copyrights:

copyright.gov

Thanks for the link.

Gosh. Even GW simplified their rules!

Still a bit unclear as to weather you have to purchase cover in the UK? It looks, to me, like it may be automatic for everything (2d, 3d, music, film).

It does seem that it is for UK only. So the law may not stretch very far outside?

I wander if anyone can get coverage for UK items under Oz or Us laws. I guess they could, but does selling in the UK disqualify them as if they had sold it previously in Oz?

Perhaps TMP, if they have not already, should make a page with all the links and more accurate info for all parts of the world. Though not legally binding, it may offer a good start to people looking into it, Instead of us all putting our two bobs in? (cents, euros, you know what I mean)

"Intellectual property" is the most meaningless phrase in the language.
Do you mean copyright, patent, trademark… and a bunch more concepts with strict legal definitions.

Cheers for the US link. I can follow this one easily!

Looks like it is automatic in the US as well.

Oz appear to be getting ripped off down under! As copyright on 3d designs have to be paid for, check out those fees!!!

The US states they have agreements with Australia in regards to copyright. IP Australia mentions the Paris convention, 150 counties that cross copyright. I would assume (bad, bad) the UK belongs to this. *(fear not, it is on the list)*

I wander if registering in another country may give you free cover in Australia??? due to the paris convention???

This should not be an issue. Simply do your own work and do not copy the work of someone else. Then you will not have any problems.

Yes. Just like a certain big company clearly did not copy Aliens or Terminator or Lord of the rings for any of their games.

(Although, this analogy may not be entirely relevant, or accurate, depending where you live. Besides I am talking about 3d sculptures, not ideas or 2d or film designs)

Do it yourself and gain the praise, not the stigma.

Actually, Winston, Intellectual Property is a well defined legal term. In my day job business, I have to deal with IP lawyers all the time. It's quite common and well understood in video game and tv/movie agreements.

TMP… where I go to get all my copyright and IP advice. Well it is free so I guess I'd get what I paid for. Someone clearly needs to do a lot more research before making the statements he's made here.

As far as the UK is concerned you don't have to buy anything. Copyright applies automatically.

or Lord of the rings

That certain big company was properly licensed to produce and market the LOTR games.

Groan. I meant another game that appears very similar. Orcs, elves, dwarves, ringing any bells??? But that really was just a joke. Everything comes from something else.

Not sure who Cyrus is on about (me?). Kind of the point of the post though, to try to find the facts or at least where to find the facts. If I get something wrong, let us know.

Also with people from all over the world here, I thought it would be good to find out how the laws differ. Obviously a lot. Having to pay in one place for something thats free in another. People mention IP on tmp, perhaps not realizing it may not be consistent across the world, it gets confusing.

While its fine to say, just don't copy someone else's work, what if it's your work being copied? This may suddenly become relevant (as far as I know, no one is copying my work, just to be clear).

I should point out this post has done its job well. The links above should give anyone requiring them a good start, for the US, UK and Australia.

Feel free to comment, but its job done!

@ The H Man, who wrote:
"I meant another game that appears very similar. Orcs, elves, dwarves, ringing any bells??? But that really was just a joke. Everything comes from something else."

My Old English professor told us about the word "orc", which is derived from the Old English word "neorxnawanglic", a being of paradise, that is, a dead person. TSR was able to keep the term orc because it, like elf and dwarf, was not word invented by Tolkien, but already existed in the English language. Hobbit, on the other hand, was invented by Tolkien, and TSR changed the character class name to halfling.