Please offer your opinions on cue design theft
- Thread starter manwon
- Start date
Please do YOUR country a favor and do NOT have any children.
This has to be one of the most ignorant statements I have ever read on AZ.
Go to school and get a degree in something, anything.
<~~~~~ shocked you've made it this far
His name is Sam, you genius...
Obviously he does not show any respect. JB has served as well.
How do I serve my country? - I pay taxes and don't say stupid shit that makes me look ignorant.
Dear Paul,
Please read this FAQ on copyrights. Copyrights do not apply to pool cues as they are utilitarian items. http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#what
There is NO WAY to bar the importation of cues with ornamental designs on them. Cue designs are NOT protected under the existing copyright laws.
I think that you are incorrect to assume that the cue makers are not informed as to what protections are or are not available to them under the law. The American Cuemaker's Association has been up to speed on this since the mid-90s.
Intellectual property law is well defined in this area.
The only way that a copyright can be applied to a pool cue is IF the maker creates the design in ANOTHER medium, such as a painting for example and then licenses that image to be used on pool cues. Making it FIRST on a pool cue does not grant protection.
Should it? Maybe and maybe not. That is a subject of eternal debate in the world of design.
But please don't give out false information.
I have already tried to use copyright to stop the importation of knockoffs when I owned Instroke. Sorry but the LOOK of a utilitarian item is not protected under copyright, only under design patent and that is VERY VERY VERY narrow in scope and hard to use effectively.
Also stopping products at the border is not as simple as you make it sound. Yes you can register with the Bureau of Customs so that your copyrights are on file but you must also pay a bond in some cases to prevent you from making false claims. If you make a claim of infringement and the government seizes the goods your action can cause severe damage to the importer's business. If the claim is found to be erroneous then your bond will be forfeit and the money given to the defendant.
I personally would recommend that every cue maker make a rendering of each of their designs and PUBLISH them publicly with copyright notice attached. Copyright exists IMMEDIATELY upon creation. Then they can register each design for $10 so that it's in the government's files.
THEN like an image of Mickey Mouse, theoretically, no one would be legally allowed to reproduce that design in any other medium without permission.
However this is subject to challenge IF the produced work contains elements of previously known designs. In other words you can't paint a picture of a four point cue and claim copyright on all four point cues.
So good luck navigating the minefield.
Final thoughts for Eric,
I feel your pain. I know what it means to put so much effort into figuring out new ways to do something, achieving a new look, a new style and blazing the trail. I know what it means to see the next person come along and simply follow what you did and get recognition as if they came up with it all on their own. For them to conveniently forget where the inspiration comes from and not to think it polite or neccesary to mention it.
These people are ASSHOLES. Pure and simple if they KNOW that they are stealing a design and they fail to give credit then they are assholes. Some of them are not bad guys they are just socially inept and don't consider the implications of crossing the line.
Some of them are bad guys who can ONLY exist by copying what others have done. But this is the cycle of life Eric. It has nothing to do with minimizing or trivializing the act. It simply is what it is because that's what nature is. Genetically we are copies of each other and intellectually we are as well. People like you are the evolutionary forks which drive the craft. Your effort paves the way for others to come in afterward and build on top of what you have done. That means unfortunately that you will get stepped on by people rushing in to try to go down the road you laid down.
The only way NOT to get stepped on is to continue to stay ahead of them by continuing to be you and be the innovator.
I have thought about this A LOT over the past decade. I estimate that I personally lost several million dollars in potential profits due to almost identical knockoffs of my cases. And most of these were imported by my customers.
I went through all the emotions, anger, rage, depression, etc....and the only way I found peace was to accept that I am not alone on this planet. Once I create something then it's out there for all of humanity to examine it and take from it what they can use. That transcends whatever laws happen to govern invention at the moment. An idea has no owner once it escapes into the world.
What I have come to realize is that for me, in my position, trust is more important than design. My customers trust me to deliver, eventually, a case that exceeds their dreams. Relationships cannot be copied. The connection between you and the person who buys YOUR cue can't be copied.
Anyone who buys a knockoff of your cue or a cue that was deliberately designed to emulate your look knows full well that they are not getting the real experience, they know that they don't have the connection and they are not part of the club. And that's what it's all about really. Those who can access the best do. And those who can't don't. So as much as it hurts to see your style taken on by others I suggest you wear it as a badge of honor that THEY have to follow YOU.
Thanks for your clarification and your opinions. On this one we're just going to have to disagree.
Thanks man. i know i've been rough with my comments. i'm just upset because i know too many people who have been laid off because it's cheaper to hirer people outside the U.S.
Hmm didn't Lee Harvey Oswald also serve in the United States Marine Corps?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Harvey_Oswald
Service to one's country is admirable but it doesn't grant a free pass on everything afterwards.
i start shooting people you go right ahead and lump me in with him. until then relax with all the BS.
If so then he certainly isn't serving it now by spewing bigotry and hate. In the Marines they don't teach to you to sit around and blame everyone else for your sorry state. They teach you to get your ass up and get the job done. This guy is someone who wants to lament how "the man" is pushing him down and wrecking the economy instead of doing something about it.
He wants to stalk me through the forum and make bigoted remarks about "China" and personal attacks on me instead of getting off his ass and making his world better. This guy doesn't know me, he doesn't know my life and he has no basis to say a thing about why I do what I do or why I do it where I do it.
I say that IF he really was a Marine then he should read and understand the ideals he swore to protect.
Anyway, I have to grow up.
I was reminded today of something far more important:
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." - Steve Jobs (1955-2011)
So Poolplaya, you live the life you want and I will live the life I want. If what makes your life great is to follow me around nipping at my heels then feel free.
hey i'm taking care of my life. doesn't mean i don't have time to get on here and talk about people that support laying off americans to save money
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Cowboy, I agree his comments were way outline and disrespectful, I also do not appreciate them in my thread. But do not blame the military for that mentality, I mean come on you were a Boy Scout and look at the comments you make on a daily basis. Should people blame the Boy Scouts for your actions!!!!!!Please stop being a Parrot and add some content based upon your own individual thoughts, now that would be very refreshing!!!
Would everyone please stay on topic and refrain from all the Bullshit. While it may be the intent of some members to have this thread pulled, please stop, and take your petty differences to Pm or even better than that meet each other in person and settle your difference of opinion the old fashion way by having a Dual, I would love to watch and I have a great set of Dualing pistols!!!!!:smile:
JIMO
JIMO
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i agree with you. although i have only been on herea few months it amazes me when a couple grown men have a difference of opinion it usually reverts to name calling or questioning some ones integrity. damn !
Gee...thats harsh john...what am i gonna do with all the cases i have from you? fishing rods? i'm too young for that.... please don't chase me away..
In anycase if you need white robes and hood do visit www.cheep-chainese-robes-by-kids.com.cn , scroll under cults and clans, and in the "Made By" section just pick "sweaty & whipped 12yr olds" those are the best quality robes you can find!
Alright i need to head out to the next village to borrow some salt now, gonna take me 6hrs there and back better start moving. Oh wait...i forgot i know kung fu...i can run on air...just need to drink some of that scorpion and monkey brain soup to power up. Shit...i forgot i don't have salt...
Stereotype anything?
What says more about his character is his preference and belief on where he spends his money. Its refreshing to see someone STILL try and protect the country.
JV
If you wanna see more stupid shit said on a forum than you could ever dream of, start a cue design theft thread......instant mass lobotomy.....lol.
so if i have an offshore company build this and put my name on it .....its my style now???? some how some way this isn't right. i kinda get what manwon is saying, perhaps its the amount of similarity that defines the gray area. good points on both sides in my opinion.
What does "offshore" have to do with it?
But the answer is no, it's not YOUR style, it's MY style. But being MY style isn't worth anything except to my own ego because you can't bottle style and keep it in a vault.
Once MY style is presented to the world then you or anyone else is free to work in that style. Where you would classless is trying to CLAIM it's your style when it's not.
Similar to coming on a group of backwards natives in the Amazon and claiming you invented all the cool tech stuff you impress them with.
Now, IF I had a design patent on that case and you copied it practically verbatim THEN I could sue you for infringement.
You guys think you know about this shit but very few of you have been there. I have lost millions of dollars in sales to knockoffs of my products. I explored every legal avenue to stop it from happening. Guess what? You can't if you're little. And if you're big you can stop it through intimidation, not because you have the legal right to stop it but because you have the money to make it very expensive to fight the lawsuit. Conversely when the big guy copies the little guy the little guy often can't afford the legal fight even when he is on solid legal ground.
And as I said there are moral sides to the issue and legal ones. Morally I think it's shitty to take someone's design verbatim and copy it for profit. I think it shows a lack of character and a lack of respect. But would I be upset if someone did a SIMILAR flame case with some of the elements? No I wouldn't be. Ten years ago I would have been outraged.
Now I am over it and think so what, at least someone thought my stuff was good enough to want to copy it. I will warn people that they shouldn't be fooled into thinking that WE made it and that it might not have the same level of quality that we put into our cases. Otherwise I don't care other than if they don't give us credit for the inspiration. Because I think that anyone who takes their cue from another person should be respectful enough to acknowledge that.
In the arts we go all nuts when someone copies/emulates a particular style. But in business and in sports it's considered weakness if you don't copy the other guy to be able to do what he does and improve on it.
As a species we are terribly conflicted in how we live our lives. I don't carry that conflict around. If you show me an idea then it's in my head now and I may or may not do something with it.
As Einstein said, and I paraphrase, "If I have a dollar and I give it to you then I am one dollar poorer and you are one dollar richer. But if I give you an idea then you are one idea richer and I am not one idea poorer."
So you now have the idea that flame cases look cool. www.alibaba.com will provide you with a list of OEM companies you can send the picture to and make a line of flame cases. No matter what you won't have the original because the original, just like the originals of all the great art, is safely away from your reach in a collector's house. All you can ever hope to make are poor simulations of the original. But you have the spark, more power to you. Just remember though that after you order that 1000 cases from your Alibaba contact that I may also come out with a line of flame cases and undercut yours by half, but mine will carry my dna and branding... see how that works....life.