Custom Repainting for Fees

[edzmen]

Hi,

A question for all you legal-types out there:

"An indevidual or orgranisation cannot charge fees to repaint Freeware aircraft in custom schemes for any indeviduals wanting to pay for such a plane, if the original creator of the model has relased it as 'non-profit'."

Is this the case - and is custom repainting for fees against the law?

Many thanks for any advice or help on the topic,
Ed

[Skligmund]

Where did that quotation come from, and I'll tell you.

[igorski]

At a guess i'd say he just came up with it to be clear about what he's asking, that right Ed? Also, I hope its not illegal as I'm in the middle of a large batch of work for someone now...  8) Essentially I'm getting paid an ammount per repaint for my time and effort.

[|| Andy ||]

I hope it isnt against the law.  ;D

[Skligmund]

In the U.S. it is not, as long as you are charging the person who is paying money your time, and not the finished product.

So if asked by a laywer or anybody else, you did sell the new paint job, but rather you were payed for your services to complete a task for somebody.

[igorski]

lol ok  8) anybody know for anywhere else? and does it depend on my location, the recipiants location, or both?

[Felix/FFDS]

THere are two issues here.

If I release a model and textures for freeware distribution, and someone pays someone else to repaint it for their personal use, although violating the spirit of freeware, it's an interpersonal transaction (why would someone pay to create a repaint of a freeware model/texture is another story)

Now, if that person in turn starts SELLING that model with the repainted textures (or just the textures), then I'm going to be highly unmotivated to contintue producing freeware, AND I might consider taking legal action because that person is taking my intellectual property - my model and the original textures from which the repaints were done - and profiting from it.

Note that the argument that " the textures were repainted and therefore not your creation anymore"  doesn't hold, because to get to that point you HAD to have used/changed my original textures - as mapped specifically for that model.

[igorski]

quite so, and I have no intentions of taking another designers models and seeling them as my own, or otherwise.

why would someone pay to create a repaint of a freeware model/texture is another story

You pay for gaurenteed quality  ;) lol how big headed does that sound  :P Send me to a corner with no supper...

[Merlin66]

I agree 100% with Felix (as always!)
A freeware design IS a freeware design. No cost.

The original author should be able to control the use of his/her model for subsequent repaints and out of courtesy the proposed re-paint should be discussed and agreed with the original author prior to uploading.

IMHO only the orginal author can rightfully convert a freeware model into a $$$ commercial model.

Paying someone to re-paint a model for you then to use it for your own personal use is something else.

I'd hate to see someone do a re-paint for one of my YAS spitfires and then sell it as a commercial package. I'd get really p****d off.

[igorski]

I dont agree with plain selling repaints freely, but if someone wants to make me an offer to cover the time I spend doing specific repaints for them, then I think thats acceptable.

[|| Andy ||]

Yeah,
but if u were to only supply the altered textures, i doubt thats illegal

[Hagar]

I know little of the legal aspects but I have to agree with Felix.

If I release a model and textures for freeware distribution, and someone pays someone else to repaint it for their personal use, although violating the spirit of freeware, it's an interpersonal transaction (why would someone pay to create a repaint of a freeware model/texture is another story)

I've been offered money to create aircraft in the past. My reply is always the same. It's illegal & my work is not good enough to sell anyway. I do this for my own amusement & satisfaction.  

Charging a reasonable fee for your time might be different providing it's for someone's own use & doesn't infringe the author's wishes. I prefer to show people how it's done & encourage them to have a go themselves. In the case of VAs they should try to enlist the services of one or more of their members & give them official titles. They seem to have titles for everyone else in the organisation. I also think that before anyone thinks of charging a fee for doing anything it should be to an acceptable standard.

[igorski]

I'm hoping to go to university next year, so if someone offers me an amount to do repaint(s) then i cant affiord to say no  8)

I prefer to show people how it's done & encourage them to have a go themselves.

I'll help folk out where I can, but teaching is one thing I am really bad at  :P

I also think that before anyone thinks of charging a fee for doing anything it should be to an acceptable standard.

Without wishing to blow my own trumpet, I think my work is of a suitably high standard  8)

[Hagar]

[quote]I'm hoping to go to university next year, so if someone offers me an amount to do repaint(s) then i cant affiord to say no

[igorski]

quite true, you can never ask for anything extortionate, but as my monetry costs are