RSS
Prop Wars: Can Paramount Prevent People From Offering Up Plans To 3D Print Movie Props?
from the freedom-to-build dept
It wasn't difficult to predict that this was coming. Late last year, we noted that it was only a matter of time until certain industries started to freak out about 3D printing, and how it would allow people to print physical items that others would claim "infringed" on original works. And, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that it's the entertainment industry that is the first to freak out. We had already noted that Gene Roddenberry's son was claiming that anyone who did a 3D printing of a Star Trek prop was infringing his rights (kinda ironic, given the nature of the Replicator device in the Star Trek universe...).
However, Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Viacom, has taken this even further. The studio apparently sent a cease-and-desist to Todd Blatt, a mechanical engineer, who has been making 3D printable models of various movie props, sending them off to the popular 3D printing service Shapeways, and offering up the products. In this case, Paramount freaked out that he was offering a 3D printed version of the weird cube-like figure in the movie Super 8.
Blatt, not wanting to get into a legal fight, took down the offered object... but the whole thing is raising questions as to whether or not Paramount has a legitimate legal claim here. As Eriq Gardner notes, this is like the Mike Tyson tattoo/Warner Bros. case in reverse.
However, Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Viacom, has taken this even further. The studio apparently sent a cease-and-desist to Todd Blatt, a mechanical engineer, who has been making 3D printable models of various movie props, sending them off to the popular 3D printing service Shapeways, and offering up the products. In this case, Paramount freaked out that he was offering a 3D printed version of the weird cube-like figure in the movie Super 8.
Obviously, the creator of such a product might run into trouble depending on how the technology is packaged. "Bring home a character from Transformers" might imply a false endorsement. "Look like Angelina Jolie" might constitute a violation of the actress' publicity rights. But copyright? Is a physical re-creation of an object on-screen a derivative?It definitely seems like a stretch, but if the entertainment industry is good at anything these days, it's stretching the meaning of copyright laws. While nothing more is likely to happen in this case, you can rest assured that this issue isn't going away, and there will almost certainly be court cases in the near future.
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Copyright
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[Spoiler Alert!]
Can Paramount Prevent People From Offering Up Movies For Downloading Over The Internet?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
It doesn't surprise me that the studio would put a stop to this if they've already negotiated a (presumably) exclusive license with a manufacturer.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Copyright
Now if they *trademarked* it...
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: [Spoiler Alert!]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Copyright
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
What did they pay for?
What did Paramount pay for that this 3D printer doesn't already have?
The schematics for the Printer are freely available on the internet.
The plastic mold was bought by the hobbyist to be shaped into a new form.
And I'm fairly positive Paramount didn't pay for the $500-%1000 3D printer.
So they have no case.
So why is it that people can be harried for a copyright issue when all this really is, is a reallocation of scarce goods, NOT BOUGHT by Paramount?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Name of 3D Printing Machine is ?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Name of 3D Printing Machine is ?
I myself have a reprap that I made for under 500$ and then printed out one more reprap using it for a friend for 200$
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Name of 3D Printing Machine is ?
http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2011/06/09/bre-on-the-colbert-report
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Name of 3D Printing Machine is ?
stupid touchscreen
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Copyright
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Tell that to the next sculptor you meet.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Name of 3D Printing Machine is ?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Hey! here's a version under a PD licence
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:9744
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Name of 3D Printing Machine is ?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Goes to show: whenever someone says "it's not about the money," it's about the money.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Dude
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Sure, 3D objects can be copyrighted...
Not sure why using a 3D printer, rather than a plaster mold, would be any different, and not sure why it makes a difference that the object is a movie prop (assuming it otherwise meets the criteria for copyright protection), rather than a half-naked chick with no arms.
HM
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
At best, you could call Lucas the designer...except I highly doubt he was the one who created the design.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re:
> information, is non-functional
Well, if you've seen the movie, you'd know it pretty much has to be non-functional, because it's functionality is light-years beyond the current state of human technology. ;-)
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
There is a provision that, 35 years after the transfer of a copyright, or his heirs I think, can get the copyright back.
The time frame doesn't have anything to do with the death of the original author, except that if the author is dead, it's not him/her but his/her heirs that can bet it back.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Gee Mike, I thought you already knew that every time something was replicated, a fee was automatically paid to the copyright holder. That's the way that everything is going, so Gene was far ahead of his time to call that one. I mean, someone had to "create" the design for that pork chop.
(For those who can't afford a sarcasm detection device, because DH's license fees are so damn steep, the above statement was, in fact, only sarcasm.
Oh and by "create", I mean the laborious work of flopping an actual pork chop into a molecular scanner. Obviously the distinctive flavor of that particular pork chop is a true work of art that should be protected forever by perpetual copyright.)
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Arguably, this design from the movie exhibits some original authorship that is protectable by copyright.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Name of 3D Printing Machine is ?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Replicators = Terrorism (or something else that's bad)
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Name of 3D Printing Machine is ?
For building, it can take some time depending on your skill level and the printer you choose to make. There are several variations already, from wooden ones to classic Darwin mods. I work full time, so working on the machine for an hour every day and over the weekends took me a few months. But mostly do to waiting for the suppliers I used all the way from Norway to deliver my parts.
The soldering was easy school grade stuff for most of it, for me at least.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Name of 3D Printing Machine is ?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Re: What did they pay for?
This is because most people have no understanding, let alone inclination to know, what is and what isn't lawful under IP Legislations. Also Organisations like Paramount et.al have a vested interest in keeping this apathy alive by misinformation, duress, fear and other social engineering factors.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Why do they go to war with their customers?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]
Add Your Comment