Wow! - Did I stir up a tempest in a teapot, or what? However, I have scanned and blown up 3 views from many sources with never a thought or worry about copyright infraction. Also, have seen many blown up models of Kadets, etc. I don't believe there is any infraction with a modeler building a single copy with no commercial use or sale in mind.
If you didn't have permission from the originator of the plans, then yes , a violation took place. However, having said that, there is the letter of the law and the spirit or intent as well. In this case, I believe that no copyright police will come raid your home in the middle of the night. The intent of the copyright is to prevent the "theft" of intellectual property. As the concern that published the plan is either out of business or otherwise unreachable, how are you supposed to get permission? Also, copyrights are not forever and must be renewed. I'm not sure what the limitation is for model plans but if no renewal has taken place before the deadline, the plans revert to the public domain and are available for anyone to copy. At least that is how it was explained in the copyright law class I took in college many years ago.
Its a very grey area.
At one end copying for sale is definitely illegal, to the extent that the owner of the copyright can sue you for material damages. It is not IIRC (may be wrong here) a criminal offence though, so its not a police matter.
At the oher end, it is widely accepted that copyng or personal use is OK, certainly with software.
You won't get in court for lifting a quotation out of a book either...or lending it to someone to read...
I don't believe you are limited to making a single model from a set of plans either, although there is some argument about that. Depends if the sale o the plans implies licence to build as well.
The reality is that no one makes a living out of selling plans - most people just about cover the cost of printing and mailing them to you, and not much more.
The cost of bringing a prosecution completely outweighs the value of any settlement.
Most copyright runs for 50 years or so. Maybe less. Its changed recently, and it was less if you did not re-apply for it.
You are right. A copyright is not forever, and the time varies with the type of material copyrighted.
Also, USUALLY, one copy is allowed to be made for personal or instructional use only. Copies may be made if the original is not available.
If time constraints prohibit obtaining an original, copies may be made. However, this type of copy must be destroyed immediately after being used once. i.e., a church choir decides to perform a piece of music which is copyrighted. They decide this on Saturday before a Sunday performance. All music stores are already closed and there is only one original work available. The choir may make as many copies as needed for the performance, but the copies must be destroyed immediately afterwards.
The "money changing hands" is not germain, copying of copyrighted work is illegal whether or not gain was made from it.
Also, if a work is made public, either performed, written, vocalized, or otherwise, without being copyrighted, it is then considered public domain.
Copyright is never "understood" or "automatic". It is an exactiing legal process that requires filling out documents, paying fees, and submitting the work to the US Copyright Office. The copyright symbol, or words to that effect, MUST be on the document. Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"
Actually this is not correct, see below.
Nope. That mey have been true once but not since the Berne Convention. There is a list of copyright myths at if anyone is interested, that one is first on the list :-)
The government and I respectfully disagree with your interpretation of the law:
"Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright. ...
"The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. (See following Note.) There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration. See "Copyright Registration."
Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time."
Marty
Basically what you are saying is that EVERYBODY who has ever copied plans for a buddy is a criminal. Damn guess just about everybody needs to load up and turn ourselves in...
You are absolutely correct. However, without the proper forms, it's damned hard to prove, as many authors, musicians, and playwrights have discovered in the past. Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"
Well,
If I have well understood this thread and the earlier one about copyrights, all copies are illegal unless expressely permitted. And what about a scratch built scaled model airplane? Do we need the written pemission of the manufacturer to make a "copy" of his WWII bomber or hunter? Because finaly an airplane is an airplane regardless of the size! If so I think most of us are in illegality.
Cheers, Daniel
Yep. Expect a call from the RIAA. :)
I modeled a 3d plane from Midwest Super Hots plans. I used it in a few personal movies and stills. I didn't give it a second thought. But I suppose that is indeed copyright violation too.
I had a lot of access to these wide format scanners and printers when I worked at an engineering/drafting company. We were basically human copying machines. The army would send us tank blueprints from the 40's, Our task was to scan the image, use it as a background in AutoCAD, and trace over it. It was a preservation project. But it still required DOD background checks.
I kid you not. This company was shipping the electronic scans to India. Like I said, it was dull work as a copying machine and we all know how cheap labor is in India.
The company folded. But they never got prosecuted on this problem.
But anyway, per your original post, the scanners are indeed awesome. A pristine archive copy of the blueprints is no big deal IMHO.
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