I have been looking into sourcing some brackets to secure some items at work. We found a company who sells the brackets that we need. However they are crazy money.

So I have drawn a similar bracket in solidworks, sent it off to my friendly fabricator and come back with a price that is about 10% of the original quote.

But here is where I am not so sure....because my bracket looks similar, and does a similar job to the commercially available unit, will I be breaking any copyright laws?

I have not measured their bracket, I have only seen a photo of it and then taken my own measurements from the equipment in question to come up with my "own" solution.

Anyone know where I stand legally?

[Edited on 16/7/08 by tegwin]

AFAIK if your not selling it your fine.

But if I did decide to sell the product....have a few more produced that I actually need at work..

Would this still be an issue?

I would guess it would mainly depend on how "original" the design of the other company's brackets was in the first place...

However, if you engineered your brackets without reference to the other company's design, then I would have *thought* you would be on safe ground...

[Edited on 16/7/08 by stevebubs]

Is the original a registered design, or patented?

If not (which seems likely) I wold go ahead and not worry, even sell some if you can.

Most engineering solutions to all sorts of problems are copied freely and have been sine the stone age

John

Im not sure if the other one im looking at has a patent/registered design...

And I think the only way to find out is to pay for a patent search...:S

It would have to be a bl**dy clever bracket design to get a defensible patent out of it.

quote:

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Originally posted by tegwin
Im not sure if the other one im looking at has a patent/registered design...

And I think the only way to find out is to pay for a patent search...:S

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registered design right, patent, copyright and unregistered design right are all very different matters.

As said above, although possibly more by luck than judgement you would only infringe a patent if it has been patented. Similarly you would only infringe a registered design if it has been registered but they could have unregisterable design rights as well. Although as a bracket, I would imagine that they wouldn't have any design rights as I'm assuming the form of the bracket is dictated by it's function.

As for copyright, this only subsists in the recording of an article, such as anything written, recorded as a sound, video etc. And as such only the design drawings would have copyright protection, not the brackets themselves.



However, to get a full answer about the legal implications I'd suggest you have a choice between some more research yourself and then risking it, or visiting a solicitor.

Hope that is of some help.

I would say if the brackets are size for size then you may have issues but if you change it a wee bit then it's like the nutty 10% body thing...nowt is ever truly new these days anyway, just a reworking of something gone before.


Mark

Doesn't something only have to be 10% different to avoid the patent laws anyway?

quote:

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Originally posted by DIY Si
Doesn't something only have to be 10% different to avoid the patent laws anyway?

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