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Digital Models Not Subject To Copyright

Posted by kdawson on from the but-this-is-a-supermodel dept.

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."

4 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. Re:That sound you hear.... by QuantumG · · Score: 4, Informative

    I think you mean Australian gents.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vda2RAEuW_g

    --
    How we know is more important than what we know.
  2. Re:open source 3D MMORPG by Have+Blue · · Score: 4, Informative

    The case makes no statement about that. What it says is that a 3D model meant to be an exact copy of an existing object cannot be copyrighted. A 3D model developed from scratch as a unique expression can still be copyrighted.

  3. Re:But wait... by russotto · · Score: 4, Informative

    I ask because, for instance, filmed coverage of congress from unmanned cameras by CSPAN gets full copyright protection even though it is similar in circumstances to the artbook photography you mention.
    Actually, it does not. From C-Span's right and permissions page:

    Video coverage of the debates originating from the chambers of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate is in the public domain and as such, may be used without restriction or attribution.
  4. Re:Make your own by T-Bone-T · · Score: 4, Informative

    There is a free program called David that allows you to use a webcam, laser level, and some markers for reference to generate a 3d model. You have to be patient and make quite a few passes with the laser but the reults are pretty good.