Pattern copyrights

[DPuppets]

Question for the board! If a person sells their pattern and as a part of you buying that it states that this is for personal use only. Does that give you the right to build a puppet from that patteren and sell on your website? Or is it ok to buy a puppet from a building take it apart and build one and sell it? Just curious what you all think.

 

[ravagefrackle]

Question for the board! If a person sells their pattern and as a part of you buying that it states that this is for personal use only. Does that give you the right to build a puppet from that patteren and sell on your website? Or is it ok to buy a puppet from a building take it apart and build one and sell it? Just curious what you all think.

i would not think so, in purchasing the item you have agreed to thier terms and conditions , if they say it is for personel use only, then that is what you are bound to do, as for reverse engineering a puppet from some one , sounds an awful lot like stealing to me,

however there is nothing wrong with using a pattern as a tool to create your own puppet., but if you want to avoid legal problems, then you would need to suffiently change the pattern to have it be your own thing, and by that i mean not just making it bigger or smaller, but acually developing your own look.

but im not a lawer so dont qoute me on that, just my own thoughts on that issue

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I would think that just copying someone's pattern for commercial purposes is probably very illegal and even if it isn't it's extremely unethical. Like Ravagefrackle said, it's stealing.

While you can study and build upon someone else's work, you have to be able to demonstrate is that you're creating a unique and original work of art. I think that anyone looking to sell puppets should probably take the time to develop their own look and patterns. If you look at the companies that have had real success over the years selling to the mass market - Senitt, Axtell, Folkmanis, even Manhattan Toy - the common denominator with them is they all took the time to find their own unique look.

It's always better to innovate than imitate.

 

[DPuppets]

thanks guys just curious...seen a few websites lately that have some puppets from patterens that are being sold on their website. might not be but sure looks like it.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I know many people do puppets that are suspiciously similar to the patterns that David P. produces; personally I like the approach of John Kennedy - he encourages people to make the puppets in his book and sell them at fairs and craft shows.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

If you have a pattern, mix and match it and play with it and make it your OWN, then sell that. I have a basic people-puppet pattern here somewhere that I bought long ago, but I mix and match it and come up with new looking stuff whenever I have someone who needs to buy--or make their own--puppet. Helping a friend make an Elton John puppet now.

 

[puppetpackpepe]

speaking of Senitt puppets. Where do you find the prices for them. The'yve got a pretty cool chicken i wouldn't mind getting.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I would just email them at info@senittpuppets.com or call 1-888-257-3116. I think they tend to sell directly to stores rather than the public, but I am sure they could either sell you a chicken or tell you where to order it from. I go to their booth every Fall at the One of a Kind Show in Toronto; they're all very nice people.