[sdiy] cloning, copying, copyrights

[Derek Holzer]

I hope others will chime in on this, but as far as I know, it goes like 
this:

You can trademark a name, you can patent a design or design principle, 
and you can copyright the actual "artwork" (i.e. the PCB art). But most 
vintage synths and effects are not patented, since they are often based 
on the same principles as other circuits. So what is copyrighted is the 
PCB art. Therefore, if you take the circuit and make your own PCB, you 
are not violating copyright. However, if you call it a Korg, you may 
well be violating trademark. Directly reproducing the original 
manufacturer's schematic might also violate copyright on that piece of 
"art". The people who clone the EDP Wasp, for example, have gone to 
great trouble to redraw both the PCBs and the published circuit schematics.

Zach from Z Vex has posted quite a bit about people cloning his Fuzz 
Factory pedal, claiming that publishing a tracing of his PCB (i.e. 
reverse-engineering it) violates his intellectual property rights. If 
the understanding that I have of the situation is correct, however, then 
his complaints are not legally valid. Publishing a 1-to-1 copy of the 
PCB would violate those rights, but publishing a tracing, however rude 
or bad for his business that might be, would not be in violation because 
the Fuzz Factory is (to the best of my knowledge) not patented.

Tricky stuff.

I would be interested to hear other interpretations of this, however.

best!
Derek

Ian Smith wrote:
> Hey all,
> 
> I was wondering what the deal is with selling PCBs of cloned vintage gear. What is legal? How can you make a clone of something that is copyrighted (I assume)? Do you just need to give credit to the original creator or company?


-- 
derek holzer ::: http://www.umatic.nl ::: http://blog.myspace.com/macumbista
---Oblique Strategy # 11:
"Always first steps"