Originally posted by bswan72
Hello,
This got lost in the the thread I started History of Estes. Anyone have any input on this - Are there any copyright problems with instructions and decals? I noticed some clone kits contain copies of the original instructions.
Brian
I spoke to Estes' counsel on this matter after having bought one such clone.
Yes, there are both patents and copyrights involved.
They know people are making old plans etc. available. They haven't done anything about that. I doubt they will.
They know people are making clone kits. They definitely do not like this. They've taken action on these in the past, and may well again.
The problem is NOT specifically intellectual property protection related, but rather one of liability. They don't want to be held responsible for something someone else sold.
Let's say someone sells a clone kit and labels it as such. Then someone else builds and flies it, and pokes somebody's eye out in the process. In the almost inevitable court case, if it comes out that the the device was copied from an initial design belonging to Estes, the attorneys involved may try to go after Estes, claiming the design was defective. If the person selling the clones is some small company, which in model rocketry terms can mean just some guy in his basement, and maybe not even 18, it's more likely they'll try to go after the big money, because they can't get much from some hobbyist. Even though they're unlikely to win such a claim, some attorneys will do this, in the hopes that the big money involved will settle out of court rather than waste even more money and the time involved to defend themselves in the court room.
Yes, selling a Bag of Parts, which states "well you COULD build..." and a URL to the old plans online does offer a some protection against this.