Thoughts on new a1200 cases ?

[kipper2k]

Hi all,

thinking about the upcoming new cases for the C64 has got me thinking into the possibility of getting some a1200 cases produced.

I guess a few of my questions are...

- is the case design copyrighted?
- is the "Amiga" printed into the plastic copyrighted ?
- who if anyone would hold the copyright/license rights for this
- a sorta silly question, who would like one

and last, anyone got any ideas as to to how/where this could be done ?

i would also like to add possibility of replacement keys for the keyboards too

[PJM]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

Hi all,

thinking about the upcoming new cases for the C64 has got me thinking into the possibility of getting some a1200 cases produced.

I guess a few of my questions are...

- is the case design copyrighted?
- is the "Amiga" printed into the plastic copyrighted ?
- who if anyone would hold the copyright/license rights for this
- a sorta silly question, who would like one

and last, anyone got any ideas as to to how/where this could be done ?

i would also like to add possibility of replacement keys for the keyboards too

I too was thinking about this after reading the article about those c64 cases. What's the chances of someone stumbling on the original moulds?

I would start with Petro who is quite open on Facebook with his followers. If they are lost/melted down it would be a shame.

Replacement keys would be awsome, particularly if those appeared in other colours.

[Arnie]

Originally Posted by PJM

Replacement keys would be awsome, particularly if those appeared in other colours.

Especially black

[NovaCoder]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

Hi all,

thinking about the upcoming new cases for the C64 has got me thinking into the possibility of getting some a1200 cases produced.

I guess a few of my questions are...

- is the case design copyrighted?
- is the "Amiga" printed into the plastic copyrighted ?
- who if anyone would hold the copyright/license rights for this
- a sorta silly question, who would like one

and last, anyone got any ideas as to to how/where this could be done ?

i would also like to add possibility of replacement keys for the keyboards too

Yep a very interesting idea, esp. with the 3D printers we have now.

Nobody really knows who owns the copyright but a there are a few companies that would probably have a go at claiming copyright violation which would make life difficult. Probably the easiest thing to do is sell the cases unbranded and sell the inserts/stickers separately via a third party.

I think there is a small market for them

• A little one for a Raspberry/MinMig (with a working keyboard)
• Different colors in the same design as the original
• A modernized version for the original motherboard (sans Floppy)

[IanP]

Originally Posted by kipper2k

Hi all,

thinking about the upcoming new cases for the C64 has got me thinking into the possibility of getting some a1200 cases produced.

I guess a few of my questions are...

- is the case design copyrighted?
- is the "Amiga" printed into the plastic copyrighted ?
- who if anyone would hold the copyright/license rights for this
- a sorta silly question, who would like one

and last, anyone got any ideas as to to how/where this could be done ?

i would also like to add possibility of replacement keys for the keyboards too

If copyright applies to the case design it probably lies with Cloanto - Cloanto confirms transfers of Commodore/Amiga copyrights. The "Amiga" embossed into the case would be a trademark. Amiga Inc. put the Amiga trademark up for sale in 2010 - Pluritas Engaged by Amiga, Inc. to Market the Amiga Trademarks but it doesn't look like any sale happened at the time. Amiga Trademark Ownership is listed in this document which may or may not be up to date. The Commodore and "Chicken head" logo trademarks were sold to Tulip and since have probably since changed hands.

Demand would be very strong for new cases if they were high quality, carried the trademarks and were a reasonable price.

If there is a copyright issue with the case design it would apply to the new C64C cases too so it may be worth checking with Cloanto about there opinion of the C64 case Kickstarter. The stickers supplied with the new C64 cases are avoiding the Commodore trademarks.

[jbenam]

A case made with modern plastics which DON'T yellow... That would be amazing

[Devlin]

I'd definitely buy a black case and replacement keycaps for my A1200. I harvested a few from a busted A500 keyboard to replace some of the damaged keycaps.

[ElectroBlaster]

I have an idea! If they cannot sort copyright of the logo, then route in a space for a decent badge to be added by the customer.

I have seen some on Ebay that are printed from aluminum and actually look ok.
The C64 and C64C will be easy to sort out, as would an A500/+.

The A1200 would be a small problem but I would certainly be ok sticking a badge on one of them, more so if they used the extra space for another LED for pcmcia activity mods

[seb132]

I'm totally in for a raspberry Pi size case... If someone knows a free to use 3D model, even rough, of the A1200 case I'm more than happy to mod the 3D with CATIA to make the card fit in a professional way.... Then off it'll go to the 3D printer!

If I had access to a 3D scanner at work it would be done already...

[cv643d]

If you can locate the molds I would like one in any color.

[Adrian Browne]

I'd prefer a new case design inspired by the A1200.
There is lot's of companies that provide the facility to do injection molding.

I think some use temporary or transient molds. Like these guys http://www.protolabs.co.uk

Do a kick-starter and count me in. I believe it can be done cost effectively with someone like Protolabs and they do low volume orders.

You could raise 10,000 or so I'm confident. The daddy raised such a number for his aluminium cases.

[IanP]

Talking of X500 by The Daddy, he supplies USB keyboards with them. Elbox make an AT Keyboard adapter for their tower conversions, this is quite a pricey item for just a micro controller, pcb and connector. It might be a good idea to design a USB keyboard to A1200 adapter (if it doesn't yet exist) and modify the new Amiga 1200 case design to use an off the shelf/OEM USB keyboard with custom keycaps like the X500 does. You would also have a second market for the adapter from a1200 tower builders. People buying the new A1200 case/keyboard don't have to worry about their old key switches wearing out. Modders can use the case/keyboard without adapter for non Amiga projects like Raspberry Pi etc. or as a retro "amiga" PC keyboard.

[IanP]

So the owners of the Commodore trademark put the frighteners on Dallas Moore and he has removed all references to Commodore from his Kickstarter campaign.

Dear Sirs:
Re: Cease and Desist Use of `Commodore` Trademark
C= Holdings B.V. is the registered holder of the “Commodore” trademark.
The “Commodore” trademark is protected by numerous trademark registrations, including the registration under number 1251535 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Dallas Moore is advertising and promoting its products under the “Commodore” trademark without the agreement of C= Holdings B.V.
Kickstarter and Facebook are allowing their facilities to be used for Dallas Moore to advertise and promote its products under the “Commodore” trademark without the agreement of C= Holdings B.V.
C= Holdings B.V. hereby demands that Dallas Moore immediately cease and desist from advertising and promoting its products under the “Commodore” trademark.
C= Holdings B.V. hereby demands that Kickstarter and Facebook immediately cease and desist from allowing their facilities to be used by Dallas Moore to advertise and promote its products under the “Commodore” trademark.
In the event that the demands herein of C= Holdings B.V. are not immediately complied with, C= Holdings B.V. will initiate legal proceedings to enforce its rights and seek compensation.
Govern yourself accordingly.

[blizz1220]

Shape and design of cases cannot be copyrighted as far as I know but can be patented which would be bad too if patent didn't expire.

[IanP]

That depends on whether a computer case is considered to be a functional or nonfunctional item. If it's a functional item it can only be covered by a design patent or the equivalent design registration in the country concerned. If it's a nonfunctional item it is also covered by copyright, according to wikipedia at least. The "AMIGA" Trademark in the A1200 case design is definitely a problem if you want to reproduce them though. Any US design patent is long since expired as they only used to last 14 years (new ones now last 15 years).

[Steve T]

why does it have to look like the old one, or have to bear a logo at all? Make it with enough external differences to be considered a new design.

would be nice if such a thing were screw-less, for those that are always tinkering under the hood...

[Paul_s]

make this one...

[IanP]

Whilst it looks great I suspect there are some practical issues with the design. It looks like it has a curved keyboard. The roll-off at the front looks too small for a standard amiga keyboard. If you adapt the design for a modern keyboard they usually have keys in the LED and logo areas. The standard floppy drive is unlikely to fit in the pointy section and mounting the optical and floppy drives on top of each other may not be practical. Access to the PCMCIA port may be obstructed too.

[spudje]

Agree, coming up with a new design offers more possibilities regarding room for addons and different connectors. And as a bonus it prevents copyright/patent infringement.

[kipper2k]

i think a new case is definately justified, multiple colour options. would be nice if the "Amiga" logo can be on the case