Whoever posted this article needs to dig deeper into the facts. BHI initially sued FPPI for incorporating portions of "STAN T. rex" into their casting of "Peck's Rex". The parts of STAN were loaned to FPPI with a contract stating that the casts were to be used for reference only and copies may not be made. Copies of the STAN material were made and incorporated into casts of Peck's Rex which were sold, this not only violates copyright but is a violation of the specimen loan agreement as well. As for the SUE material: BHI collected and was able to partially prepare SUE. While BHI was preparing SUE, molds and casts were made (BHI owned the fossil at the time). Nature cannot be copyrighted, but sculpture can be. Fossil preparation includes sculpting the matrix away from the bone (this requires skilled hands to not damage the bone), rebuilding the bones (sometimes a single bone is scattered over several square feet, all the pieces must be collected), filling cracks in the bone (without this, another form of sculpture, the bones would fall apart, their stabalization is also copyrightable), sculpting missing portions (nearly every fossil has sculpted parts, or is composited from multiple specimens. Even this compositing is copyrightable). BHI holds copyrights to the preparation of all portions of SUE's fossils that were prepared by BHI staff. This is what allows BHI to continue to cast and sell certain SUE elements, such as the right arm. This lawsuit is to recoup losses from FPPI's sale of Peck's rex which resulted in a loss of sales for BHI. And to make a mold from a cast you are also violating the molder's copyright as molding takes a certain degree of skill to produce a good cast. Research next time!
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Timothy Larson.
Re: You don't know the half of it... and you certainly don't
Research this, there was never an arrest made! I don't even need to comment on the rest because your first statement is a falacy.
Re:
No, you are copying a sculpture then.
Misinformation
Whoever posted this article needs to dig deeper into the facts. BHI initially sued FPPI for incorporating portions of "STAN T. rex" into their casting of "Peck's Rex". The parts of STAN were loaned to FPPI with a contract stating that the casts were to be used for reference only and copies may not be made. Copies of the STAN material were made and incorporated into casts of Peck's Rex which were sold, this not only violates copyright but is a violation of the specimen loan agreement as well. As for the SUE material: BHI collected and was able to partially prepare SUE. While BHI was preparing SUE, molds and casts were made (BHI owned the fossil at the time). Nature cannot be copyrighted, but sculpture can be. Fossil preparation includes sculpting the matrix away from the bone (this requires skilled hands to not damage the bone), rebuilding the bones (sometimes a single bone is scattered over several square feet, all the pieces must be collected), filling cracks in the bone (without this, another form of sculpture, the bones would fall apart, their stabalization is also copyrightable), sculpting missing portions (nearly every fossil has sculpted parts, or is composited from multiple specimens. Even this compositing is copyrightable). BHI holds copyrights to the preparation of all portions of SUE's fossils that were prepared by BHI staff. This is what allows BHI to continue to cast and sell certain SUE elements, such as the right arm. This lawsuit is to recoup losses from FPPI's sale of Peck's rex which resulted in a loss of sales for BHI. And to make a mold from a cast you are also violating the molder's copyright as molding takes a certain degree of skill to produce a good cast. Research next time!