13 March 2017, 22:34 | #1 |
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Legal: Amiga schematics
On this moment I'm redrawing the Amiga 500 schematics as a personal project. It's progressing really slowly, I tend to learn best of repetition instead of doing thing in one go and then never do it for a long time. On this moment though, I'm starting to wonder; how legal is it if I would share this with the world?
They schematic is logically a one-on-one, but just logically. It's not a technical one-on-one that looks precisely the same. Any ideas (preferably with references) on this one? Can I share my schematics freely? Or should I perhaps wait for a few years when some kind of right has passed? (Copyright, patents, trademarks or some obscure right) |
13 March 2017, 23:15 | #2 |
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Patents last maximum of 20 years. (Expired)
Trademarks are indefinite - so long as the annual license fee has been paid (it hasn't been paid for over 2 decades that I am aware of). Your only legal loophole is copyright breach, so make sure you declare "For educational and scientific use only" with a date and you should be OK. Big problem if people try to sell such things, but educational / scientific disclaimer gets you OK for free distribution of documents. I suggest you check local legislature, but that broadly is how you get away with it. |
13 March 2017, 23:36 | #3 |
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What are you redrawing them in? I thought about doing them in KiCAD
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14 March 2017, 00:23 | #4 |
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No-one is going to sue you for a schematic. Look at www.amigapcb.org for example.
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14 March 2017, 01:51 | #5 |
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14 March 2017, 09:28 | #6 | |||
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@Thread
I will point out I am not a solicitor (lawyer) - I have studied 3 Law modules at Uni for my BSc which include Copyright, Contractual and Intellectual Property Law. (Within the EU). Again I am not a solicitor - I would always advise that if you are concern - please contact a legal professional. These are my opinions working with Copyright / IP / Patents over the last 10 (ish) years. Not precisely true, patents in the engineering field are generally granted for longer terms than those in the pharmaceutical field - these change from country to country. Within Europe for non pharmaceutical patents it is indeed 20 years from the date of filing. Quote:
There are two type of "TRADE MARK" registered and unregistered, the former offers the holder of said trade mark more leverage in court. have a look at CTM (Community Trade Marks) - however in the western world of Europe, Trademarks are applied to a product or service - if this service or product is not marketed / sold for three years you lose the Trade Mark. Registering a trademark (in Europe) costs about £1200 pending filing fees - Unregistered Trade Marks follow the above principle but have less leverage in court. For example If coke stopped selling that specificity shaped bottle for 3 years then anyone could apply to register it or arguably use it as an unregistered trademark - again the latter gives less argument in court. Quote:
If you buzz out all the pins and terminals of anything and prepare a book based on your findings it is YOUR copyright i.e. your legal work - if you used any other publications in the publishing of your work (like graphics or other entities photographs) then obviously you would need to contact those copyright holders - but if you have at it with a multimeter and a ream of paper - draw your own diagrams you are in the clear legally. Quote:
If I take my A500, using my pencil, pens paper and multimeter - and make a bunch of schematics and publish them I am in my right to do so - I can do the same for the PS4 or latest gadget - I cannot include any trademarks from those brands nor can I use any previously published material that relates to my research without permission from the copyright holders. I hope that helps. |
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14 March 2017, 18:02 | #7 |
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14 March 2017, 18:02 | #8 | |
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That they exist doesn't mean I won't get sued. It just states that the current right holder hasn't started doing so. |
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14 March 2017, 18:03 | #9 | |
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I have seen those, but they are pdf's and not usable to convert into her era. |
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14 March 2017, 18:05 | #10 | |
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Thank you for the time you took to answer my question. Even though it might not be completely true, at least it gives me some perspective. |
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14 March 2017, 18:06 | #11 | |
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Thank you for a long and well written answer. This is a good insight in a legislative perspective. |
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14 March 2017, 20:14 | #12 | ||
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The real disputes only happen when there is a commercial interest - people draw and paint Harley images, coke bottles etc. That's fine. Mass producing and SELLING them is where the problem start - no commercial loss, no case to answer. Quote:
Last edited by Pat the Cat; 14 March 2017 at 20:25. |
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14 March 2017, 22:39 | #13 |
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Trademarks are also just trademarks - they don't protect the work itself, only associated branding. So as long as the schematics aren't sold under an Amiga or Commodore brand or something like that there's no problem trademark-wise. And don't forget that quoting US regulations from Wikipedia doesn't necessarily mean they apply in the Netherlands Like patent law, trademark law changes from country to country. Trademarks in the UK only have to be renewed every decade, for example.
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14 March 2017, 23:07 | #14 | ||||
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However as you pointed out as long as the product / service is being met (as in not lapsed for a period of 3 years) the holder of the trademark can continue to renew it every 10 years. Quote:
In regards to art, that is handled differently as one would not be selling the product or service as such we can then move into a fair use area - which can become very grey very quickly. Quote:
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14 March 2017, 23:20 | #15 |
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Yes. And they won't do so because they can't afford it and they certainly can't afford proving that they are their rightful owners in a court of law.
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14 March 2017, 23:55 | #16 | |
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15 March 2017, 00:32 | #17 |
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Pat, will you PLEASE refrain from filling every thread with incorrect and damaging information and useless drivel. It's beyond annoying now!
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15 March 2017, 08:53 | #18 | |
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This is only true as long as the current owner doesn't sell the right to someone who will sue. I don't want to step onto any right holder's feet because the current right holder hasn't got the deep pockets to sue. Getting away with something illegal isn't the same as being legal. It does however give some perspective. Maybe I should just share it somewhere with a clause that if there is a rightful owner and he contacts me, I will take it down if he can prove it. That would make it a lot easier. It's not like there is anyone making any profit on the old designs anyway. |
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15 March 2017, 09:11 | #19 |
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Stop worrying and do stuff instead. No-one is ever going to sue you.
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15 March 2017, 09:36 | #20 |
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