- This topic has 73 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 17 years, 4 months ago by .
-
Posts
-
and even if the there is a stamp that says pyo..people can still paint them like production pieces and since they are by windstone, even though they are a PYO, it could make it harder for them to protect their style from any one using it since their style is being painted on the pyo’s and sold.
(I’m not saying that this is happening, but if people did start painting them and selling them, then regardless of a stamp, it would still take away from their protection for their style)
at least that is how I understand it to work.
KoishiiKitty wrote:Has there been trouble with people painting them as production pieces and then selling them?
Yes, though it has been rare and the parties involved were not aware of the problem (i.e. didn’t realize they couldn’t) and all was resolved well.
The problem therein is that Windstone must be consistent. If, in the future, they are in court trying to protect their work from “Large Company A with Good Lawyers” and the lawyers point out that Windstone has ever let anyone copy their markings, colors, or “LOOK”, then Windstone’s protection may be compromised or even lost. It’s stupid but the way the law works.
For now we’re able to gently police the PYOs as most of them are sold within this community and we can keep an eye on them. We’re not tying to be jerks or stifle your creativity. When PYOs get bigger though and Windstone’s small workforce can’t watch all of them that are painted – that can lead to trouble.Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.comNambroth wrote:KoishiiKitty wrote:Has there been trouble with people painting them as production pieces and then selling them?
Yes, though it has been rare and the parties involved were not aware of the problem (i.e. didn’t realize they couldn’t) and all was resolved well.
The problem therein is that Windstone must be consistent. If, in the future, they are in court trying to protect their work from “Large Company A with Good Lawyers” and the lawyers point out that Windstone has ever let anyone copy their markings, colors, or “LOOK”, then Windstone’s protection may be compromised or even lost. It’s stupid but the way the law works.
For now we’re able to gently police the PYOs as most of them are sold within this community and we can keep an eye on them. We’re not tying to be jerks or stifle your creativity. When PYOs get bigger though and Windstone’s small workforce can’t watch all of them that are painted – that can lead to trouble.ahh, you worded it better then me, lol, i tried.
yes, that is what I thought(in better wording)
It is sad that things are that way, but it is understandable.it is really nice that we are getting the opotunity to enjoy them for now in this small group. I wish it could stay that way, but for now it is nice.
;_; I hope there is somehow a good solution to this problem….
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom."
-J R R TolkienHow about something like a digital signature during checkout when you are buying PYOs? You will have to read a copywrite statement before continuing to checkout, or something like that?
skigod377 wrote:How about something like a digital signature during checkout when you are buying PYOs? You will have to read a copywrite statement before continuing to checkout, or something like that?
Regrettably this was discussed too, and isn’t really an option. The only thing legally that they can have you sign is a licensing agreement (which creates the whole big problem that it legally allows you to paint them like production pieces.. not good).
If they had you sign something saying what you CANNOT do.. well, the layer told them that’d be a terrible thing to do, as crazy as it sounds. Legally, if you singed something saying what you could NOT do, that would grant tacit legal permission to do anything else, which would again destroy Windstone’s protection. It’s stupid, but it’s the way the law works. 🙁
Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.comStupid question time. Is windstone ever going to release PYO already painted to look like the existing color patterns? Since I guess legally you guys are the only ones allowed to do so?
Would this be a good idea for the lingering windstone club edition idea?
skigod377 wrote:How about something like a digital signature during checkout when you are buying PYOs? You will have to read a copywrite statement before continuing to checkout, or something like that?
Ick.
innerstillness wrote:Stupid question time. Is windstone ever going to release PYO already painted to look like the existing color patterns? Since I guess legally you guys are the only ones allowed to do so?
Would this be a good idea for the lingering windstone club edition idea? I was planning to do this, but we decided that would just make things really confusing.
What about a sister company that manufactures PYOs only? Since PYOs would be under a different company, Windstone can still keep copyright…
Maybe a little hassle setting the company up, but after the paperwork is all done, you should be able to have two separate copyrights?I’m betting the continuous paperwork related to running a company, even a sister one just for PYOs would be way too much of a pain in the heinder. 🙁
Not to mention they’d have to discontinue all the already known ones, as those were and are sold as Windstone PYOs, unless they sould somehow ‘sell’ the molds, ideas, paperwork, etc to their sister company and…
yech, my brain just freezes up thinking about it all 😀 This is why I’m on *this* side of the neat and pretty things universe and not the making/marketing/selling side 😀
here is something about the copyright issue that I am curiuse about:
would you have the same trouble with PYO animals(like the winged wolves) as you have with the dragons(griffins and kirins)?
or do the animals seem to be easier to manage and are not so much of a concern?
KoishiiKitty wrote:here is something about the copyright issue that I am curiuse about:
would you have the same trouble with PYO animals(like the winged wolves) as you have with the dragons(griffins and kirins)?
or do the animals seem to be easier to manage and are not so much of a concern?
From what I understand (and I’m not an expert, so take my word lightly until Melody responds), the dragons are the biggest problem, because Windstone dragons as a whole have such a unique look and style to them. The rest of Melody’s work does too, of course, but the main trouble is protecting the “Windstone Look” on the dragons.
Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.comKoishiiKitty wrote:here is something about the copyright issue that I am curiuse about:
would you have the same trouble with PYO animals(like the winged wolves) as you have with the dragons(griffins and kirins)?
or do the animals seem to be easier to manage and are not so much of a concern? I don’t think we would have the same problem with:
A) animals that are real animals, since a real animal’s markings belong to everybody,
and B) Creatures that we don’t do in our regular production, such as winged wolves.
We haven’t had to fight to protect our “look” on, say, a Muse, because we have never produced them painted with distict coloring to tell them from all the other muses in the stores.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
