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The theory is: - Sculpture is generally protected by copyright in Berne convention countries. - Copying includes reproducing a work in any material form. The
by SEMW 14y ago
The theory is:
- Sculpture is generally protected by copyright in Berne convention countries.
- Copying includes reproducing a work in any material form. The fact that the process of making a copy involves CAD files isn't relevant: the result is a material reproduction of yoda.
- Speed & ease isn't relevant either - hewing a copy of a copyrighted sculpture one from stone over a decade is just as much an infringement as 3d-printing is. A copy is a copy.
(The difficult legal issue is what exactly a sculpture is. E.g. the UK has a narrower definition than the US, and in the UK yoda may not qualify as a sculpture - see my other comment).
IANAL, just a UK law student
- Nrsolis 14y agoIANAL, either. But sculpture somehow brings to mind the idea that a "work" had an artistic component as opposed to a functional one. For instance, it might be infringement to "print" a copy of Michelangelo's David, but not a part of a handle to a door. In the latter, it's not a work of art, so merits no protection vs. design protection that it might get if it was a patentable invention.
- SEMW 14y agoI've commented on that issue elsewhere in this thread (about a case on whether Star Wars stormtrooper helmets are copyrightable in the UK): http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5250739 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5250739