Ummmm...are we an attorney, Ned? Well written, and no, I don't hate attorneys...my wife is one... Chris
EXACTLY!! There's nothing wrong with "a dash of this, a sprinkle of that". I have no problem with guys using other people ideas as long as they respect the innovator. But if you're ripping off someone's intellectual property (i.e.: all the shit-quality Chinese hot rod aftermarket clone parts), then I have a problem with that. Use my style: OK Steal my invention: Fuck You
Back in the 70's I had Cragar S/S wheels on a car, and like many the spokes started flaking the chrome off. I got the wild idea to sandblast them and paint them gold. A year or so later Cragar offered up gold center S/S wheels! Those suckers stole my idea!
I remember Andy Ogden at Art Center said about a particular idea for a scoop or wheel design or whatever, "He who draws it best invented it" I think it came up because there was a guy that always did really bitchin' exciting sketches, but wasn't really bursting with any new ideas...
Its the same with music....the electronic altering of voices was done back in the late 50's. guitar sound manipulation was done in the early 50's. Was it copywrited, yes, but only the process, by Les Paul. Today the outcome is the same, just done differently. Like applying for a patent...if you change a design by 20% and it is looked at as a new updated version and can be patented as a different idea. SO, just change the top slightly and there can be no repercusions..you just took it to a new level....and NEVER park next to him.....
Just saw pics. That's cool. But it kinda look's like an inside-out woodie. And Ford did woodies years ago. I see no stealing here.
Go for it, it it would be better if the guy knew you admire the work enough to make an "inspired by" part that is like his. Another thing to consider is, if your town is small enough of you"ll be at the same shows it will be kind of redundant to people looking at cars and say "hey this looks like that other car". But as long as you like it it is fine. Like everyone else is saying, nothing is new, it all how its done according to taste.
I wonder if the first guy to put a SBC in a hotrod was worried about copyright infringement.....he'd be a gazillionaire today!
Absolutely spot on with this. I stole the idea for my tailights (see my avatar) from another HAMBer & when I showcased them in the tailights thread, I said "Don't blame the tailights idea on me, blame so & so." That way I covered myself on the people that didn't like them & the ones that did. ("So & so" did get a big kick out of that, by the way.)
Maybe the mods could merge this thread with this one: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=760865 In post number 39 I posted the exact same quote that Keven Lee did and that has been reposted three more times here. It's not stealing or thievery. Move along.
On the subject of copying tailights, I took my track roadster to the CHHR in '98, my hero Dick Kraft was there, with a copy of his "Bug" dragster. I went over to meet him, he said, "Your the guy with that red roadster". He went on to say, I was telling my wife,"Hey that's like the one I built". I said if you count the louvers in the deck lid, and look at the tailights, you will see where I got the ideas. If you are going steal ideas, "Steal from the best"!
Tradition means doing it the way someone else already did it, and was accepted by others as the proper way of doing it.
Remember a scientist once said "when you steal from ONE source it is plagiarism. However when you steal from a multitude of sources it is research.................think about it. My.02.
Yup, and then, invariably, the 30-40 responses about how, since everybody, and their brother did not immediately copy it, on their own cars, it is not traditional, and you ought not do it, too. Recursive error.
Use the idea and when you receive compliments on the work give the credit to the other builder for the idea.
Not an attorney, no; more of an amateur political philosopher. An attorney speaks to the law as it stands; I'm questioning whether the law is standing as it ought. And thanks.
Boise is a small town. Tell the guy how bad-ass it looks & how you want to "try" to pull that off. BTW - I lived there a long time ago. Great cruise scene!!!
Its not stealing, Its just "sharing" ! - I agree with losthubcap, the only way our hobby will evolve is if we take what we like, use it, adapt it maybe, innovate a little and presto you have contributed a little further to the overall scene. This will also ensure we can sustain it for the long term.. <!-- / message -->
First off i commend you for standards and the way you think. But i really wouldn't worry about it. It sounds like it's going to bother you more than him.
There is a super nice Model T sedan in the Rochester/Buffalo NY area that has a solid wood roof. I took pictures of it last summer at a car show in LeRoy NY. I'll try to find a pic to share. EDIT here's the pics.
This I would think could be taken a number of ways. Personally, if I was ever smart enough to come up with my own good idea, I would take it as a compliment if someone else liked it enough to copy it....... wouldn't care about any credit either.. but that's just me..
You're not gonna put a picture of his car on a tee shirt and sell it through a major retail chain are you? Cthat's been done too.
one of my frineds has a 62 Chevy II , and was talking about putting side markers on it , and saw one of my old pontiac books laying around , and liked the old Arrows they used for the backs , and is going to graft them in his car , I liked the Idea of it ,I am putting them in the back of the 50 Cheif , and I am making yellow ones for the front fenders too , but they will be pointed forward not down . I told him my Idea and where I got it from . he was kind of amused by it .
Well, I wus going to cut the roof off of my wives equinox and go to home depot and get a sheet of plywood (thinking birch or maybe maple), but that idea is fu*ked now. Damn it. Day late and dollar short every time... Maybe ceramic tile. Anyone doing tile??
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