Is is unlawful to copy a design and sell it to a customer I am asking this because I like a design however I don't like the steel being used so I want to take the knife and have it custom made by one of the service providers here. Is this unethical? Please share your thoughts.
Legal/ethical question for knife makers
- Thread starter JAMerolle
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AVigil
Adam Vigil knifemaker working the grind
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Not unlawful
But can be unethical if it is an exact copy. Men like Loveless are more then happy to let people copy his designs others are not so happy about it.
But may I ask what type of steel is the original made of and why do you not like it?
But can be unethical if it is an exact copy. Men like Loveless are more then happy to let people copy his designs others are not so happy about it.
But may I ask what type of steel is the original made of and why do you not like it?
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Bingo... If someone wanted one of my designs in stainless, I would be happy to point them to a maker that could help them out. But why would anybody ever want stainless, anyway... yuck
The alternate maker may want to contact the original designer as well.
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to many it is seen as intellectual property ,so asking permission to use it is the appropriate thing to do.
some will take the general idea and use it with a few changes that make it obvious it is not the original design. that is kind of the gray area of it .
most knife makers are real good guys(mostly) and don't have a problem sharing a design .
i'm pretty sure since man began walking upright virtually all the designs have all already been used who knows when or by who but manners say ask anyway.we are civilized after all. ok mostly civilized(joking)
some will take the general idea and use it with a few changes that make it obvious it is not the original design. that is kind of the gray area of it .
most knife makers are real good guys(mostly) and don't have a problem sharing a design .
i'm pretty sure since man began walking upright virtually all the designs have all already been used who knows when or by who but manners say ask anyway.we are civilized after all. ok mostly civilized(joking)
I like l6 so any knife I like needs to be remade , or at lest many of them , I also Like the busse ffbm but it not in production , looking at the resale forum they are so dame much money and beat up as well. I would like to take the design and have one of the venders here to help me. Then I started to question the ethical issue of that idea
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The way I see it, if you are going to go through the trouble to make your own knife and you can't come up with some original twists on it, you're doing it wrong. Get inspired by the knife you like, sure, but don't copy it grind for grind intentionally. Make it your own. It is unethical, but worse, kind of lame. I'd be surprised if another maker here would even take up the request to copy another design.
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email Garth and he might be able to make you a FFBM at the original price. Jerry is definitely not going to be cool with ripping off his design.
The NMFBMs are thinner but longer and will easily hang with FFBMs. Also the NMFSH previewed at Blade is basically a FFBM with a drop point, same .32 stock, same Fusion handles. There are plenty of options. There's almost always something like this in the ganzaas too.
The NMFBMs are thinner but longer and will easily hang with FFBMs. Also the NMFSH previewed at Blade is basically a FFBM with a drop point, same .32 stock, same Fusion handles. There are plenty of options. There's almost always something like this in the ganzaas too.
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith
ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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This is probably better in the General Knife Discussion forum. I'll move it.
Gareth Bull
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I agree with the sentiments expressed.
There's little to nothing that hasn't already been done in the knife world. As they rightly point out in books on the subject, there's likely not a maker that hasn't been influenced by the already mentioned Loveless as well as countless others. That said, you can tweak here and there to make the design your own (I sound like an Idols judge....) in terms of a Busse, the guard is protected so steer well clear there. Either way, it doesn't hurt to contact the originator of the design if you feel it may be treading on their toes. More often than not they'll give you the nod but the courtesy is always appreciated. If you get a "No", move on, there's so much room for creativity in a knife the size of a FFBM
Reputation is key to survival in the industry. A blatant copy will destroy your rep so list influences, make a note of any correspondence and give credit where it's due.
There's little to nothing that hasn't already been done in the knife world. As they rightly point out in books on the subject, there's likely not a maker that hasn't been influenced by the already mentioned Loveless as well as countless others. That said, you can tweak here and there to make the design your own (I sound like an Idols judge....) in terms of a Busse, the guard is protected so steer well clear there. Either way, it doesn't hurt to contact the originator of the design if you feel it may be treading on their toes. More often than not they'll give you the nod but the courtesy is always appreciated. If you get a "No", move on, there's so much room for creativity in a knife the size of a FFBM
Reputation is key to survival in the industry. A blatant copy will destroy your rep so list influences, make a note of any correspondence and give credit where it's due.
Keep in mind that the talon hole featured on Busse knives is a registered trademark of Busse Combat knife company, and he defends the trademark vigorously. If I wanted to make myself a knife patterned after a Busse blade shape, I would as a matter of ethics, morality and law not put a talon hole on it.
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I dunno about the law side of it but as far as ethics go, it really depends how close you are coming. If your design is inspired by it and takes some key attributes from it then thats fine. but if its just a replica or worse yet trying to pass itself of as the origina that's not ok in my books
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and yet a poll of knifemakers some years back put it at the top choice. No steel is 'that great' until the specific use an environment is defined.
Could you identify the knife in question? I'd be interested to see how unique it is in the knife world.
Considering how long knives have been around, how is it possible to be the sole owner of one type of blade to the exclusion of anyone else who wants to make an identical blade?
If someone invents a specific type of locking mechanism or comes up with a blade configuration that somehow doesn't already exist, then yeah, I can see how they could have exclusive rights. But even things like medicine patents only have a 20 year lifespan, then anyone can copy and sell them. How many people here take generic medications to save money? Or do you say "I refuse to buy generics because that would be stealing from the pharmaceutical company that originaly invented the medicine and spent millions on research".
But at the end of the day you have to follow your own heart. When I was a kid I asked "How can I tell right from wrong?", the answer I received was "Listen to your heart. If your heart tells you not to do it then it's wrong. But no one else can EVER tell YOU what is right or what is wrong. A man must decide for himself".
Considering how long knives have been around, how is it possible to be the sole owner of one type of blade to the exclusion of anyone else who wants to make an identical blade?
If someone invents a specific type of locking mechanism or comes up with a blade configuration that somehow doesn't already exist, then yeah, I can see how they could have exclusive rights. But even things like medicine patents only have a 20 year lifespan, then anyone can copy and sell them. How many people here take generic medications to save money? Or do you say "I refuse to buy generics because that would be stealing from the pharmaceutical company that originaly invented the medicine and spent millions on research".
But at the end of the day you have to follow your own heart. When I was a kid I asked "How can I tell right from wrong?", the answer I received was "Listen to your heart. If your heart tells you not to do it then it's wrong. But no one else can EVER tell YOU what is right or what is wrong. A man must decide for himself".
What does NMFSh stand for and is there some pictures of it please. What steel are we talking about here , if you dont mind