Digital Models Not Subject To Copyright

MonsterMagnet writes "The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has affirmed (PDF) a ruling that a plain, unadorned wireframe model of a Toyota vehicle is not a creative expression protected under copyright law. The court analogized the wire-frame models to photographs: the owner of an object does not have a copyright in all images of the object, but a photographer may have a limited copyright over a particular image based on artistic choices such as costumery, lighting, posing, etc. Thus, the modelers could only copyright any 'incremental contribution' they made to Toyota's vehicles; in the case of plain models, there was nothing new to protect. This could be a two-edged sword — companies that produce goods may not be able to stop modelers from imaging those products, but modelers may not be able to prevent others from copying their work."

Comments

Awwwww Junk

[introspekt.i]

There goes my rights to my collection of wire frame models of cages.

I thought that stuff was gonna be gold.

Convert ALL data into wireframe models NOW!

[f2x]

Finally! The loophole we've all been waiting for! Yeah, baby! Re-encode your MP3's and AVI files into WIREFRAMES! We'll work on developing the player later. Let Freedom Ring!

Re:Convert ALL data into wireframe models NOW!

[Tangent128]

Hmm... make a hi-res model of a record, then all you need is a virtual needle. Collision detection with what is basically a heightmap shouldn't be comparatively difficult, and with a decent physics engine, you can even scratch it!
Audiophiles rejoice!

Write the software...

[symbolset]

All you have to do is write the software...

Yeah, I'll get right on that. Maybe some nice slashdotter will volunteer, for Sourceforge fame?

Re:That sound you hear....

[symbolset]

Do you think you would be sued by Toyota if you published a photograph of one of a car manufactured by them?

If the photo displayed their trademark badging, reflected the product in poor light and was used to market another brand of car, yep youbetcha.

Also remember that companies take out trademark protection on the unlikeliest things. I'm pretty sure the moob forms on the front of a Jaguar are so protected. Of course there's that landmark case where Harley Davidson sued another motorcycle manufacturer for violating their trademark engine sound (which begs the question, "did they trademark the sound of a broken down Harley being pushed?").

oh noes!

[Brandybuck]

companies that produce goods may not be able to stop modelers from imaging those products, but modelers may not be able to prevent others from copying their work.

Oh noes! Teh courts can't tell the difference between proprietary and free! We should be able to copy Toyota wireframes because Toyota is Evil Corp, but Toyota can't use our mods on the wireframe because we put them under teh GPL. Next thing you know, some dumb judge will say it's okay for RIAA to do mashups of our mashups!