4 Guardian Kings

[Bobby McCarley]

Got the 4 Guardian Kings cast for the Knurl GT pen kit. Not sure if I want to offer these as a set or individually.
Also, what should I do for the Ace? Any opinions?

Bobby
Louisiana

[Ed Davidson]

Very cool castings. I got dinged once for an alleged copyright infringement...using playing cards on a yo-yo. A couple other times, I asked the designer/publisher for permission to use his art, and it wasn't a problem.

[Karl Loeblein]

Very cool castings. I got dinged once for an alleged copyright infringement...using playing cards on a yo-yo. A couple other times, I asked the designer/publisher for permission to use his art, and it wasn't a problem.


Ed, Did you buy the playing card or just make a copy of it? If it came from a purchased deck then how was that a copyright infringement?

[Ed Davidson]

Ed, Did you buy the playing card or just make a copy of it? If it came from a purchased deck then how was that a copyright infringement?


It was an original card pulled from a purchased deck. The issue came up on Etsy several years ago, where I was selling turnings at the time. Etsy's policy was that if someone complains about an infringement (copyright, trademark, whatever), they will automatically remove the ad, and not allow appeals. That's one of the reasons (no respect of "first sale doctrine") I stopped using Etsy as a sales venue.
408124

[Karl Loeblein]

It was an original card pulled from a purchased deck. The issue came up on Etsy several years ago, where I was selling turnings at the time. Etsy's policy was that if someone complains about an infringement (copyright, trademark, whatever), they will automatically remove the ad, and not allow appeals. That's one of the reasons (no respect of "first sale doctrine") I stopped using Etsy as a sales venue.

This would seem to be a tougher issue than I first thought because even the federal courts seem confused about the "first sale doctrine". Cases like this have gone to court and been decided both ways:

See

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7811317241368435030
vs
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1465323101896646559

Wonder if it might have made a 'legal' difference if something like the yo-yo was sold with the rest of the card deck?

[Ed Davidson]

This would seem to be a tougher issue than I first thought because even the federal courts seem confused about the "first sale doctrine". Cases like this have gone to court and been decided both ways:

See

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7811317241368435030
vs
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1465323101896646559

Wonder if it might have made a 'legal' difference if something like the yo-yo was sold with the rest of the card deck?




Thanks for the case law references. If I'm reading this right, you could re-sell the playing card taken from a deck you've purchased, in it's original form, under the first sale doctrine. But you cannot sell the same playing card if it's part of a "derivative work"...like my yo-yo, or the OP's pen blank. Looks like asking the original copyright holder for permission to use his work in any "derivative work" is the only way to go, and stay out of trouble.

Derivative Work definition and discussion: https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/what-are-derivative-works-under-copyright-law

[Len Mullin]

Ed, you should actually do more then just ask for permission, and take the person's word that you can use their design. To make sure your covered and protected, from being sued. You should only feel safe doing so, once you have a signed document stating that they gave you permission to use their design. Otherwise, you could still be sued. Especially if, the copyright holder, sees you making money off of their copyright.

Len