LaPala Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 Here's 2 lures I just made. They are not originals but copies with mods to size & a bit on the action to suit my fishing conditions. What do u think & if that is permissable under the "fair use" clause? Bigger one is a turus UKKO copy with added details carved & the smaller one is a Rapala FatRap scaled down to 4cm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 great lure Lapala & u know u can always do copies for yourself as long as u dont sell them ps Love them colours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siebler_custom_baits Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 LP wanna sell me a few of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bladesandbaits Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 LP, those look better than the originals dude :!: Keep up the good work :!: I think I am gonna put away my airbrush and try the rattlecan :-D Oh yeah, are these for personal use ? If so then make all you want dude and tell anyone you want to how you did it. Just sel me one please B&B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coley Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 Darn LP, you do grrrrrrrrreat work!! Coley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 heres mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 They aren't copies, you made them didn't you? I wouldn't feel right about blatantly copying another guys bait but it's almost impossible to not make something similar to something that has been done in the past. Every bait on the market today is a knock-off of another made decades ago. I love that top bait Lapala. You blended the scales with the paint perfectly. That is the finest bait I have seen you post. jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaPala Posted April 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 Thanks for the encouragement guys. Now where are the gals? Jed: well I'm giving credit to where this stuff originated from although I did do all the work & mods which strictly makes these lure not the original lures anymore?. It's true what you've said, fishing stuff have been done over and over so many times it's hard to come up with something that doesn't resemble what's been done before or work in the same principle. Even some patented stuff I've seen are strictly speaking "improvements" over what's been done before, guess these guys just have more buisness sense than we do to take advantage of the patent process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 Thanks for the encouragement guys. Now where are the gals? Jed: well I'm giving credit to where this stuff originated from although I did do all the work & mods which strictly makes these lure not the original lures anymore?. It's true what you've said' date=' fishing stuff have been done over and over so many times it's hard to come up with something that doesn't resemble what's been done before or work in the same principle. Even some patented stuff I've seen are strictly speaking "improvements" over what's been done before, guess these guys just have more buisness sense than we do to take advantage of the patent process.[/quote'] Show me a lure that is unique and bears no resemblance to an existing lure. Every minnow lure is a copy of a Rapala, which Old man Rapala probably copied from his neighbor Sven. I'll bet that if you sat down and designed that unique plug :idea: I mentioned and posted it here, someone would say, "Oh, thats a (you fill inthe blank) copy. Exceptional work as usual Lapala. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coley Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 Swede, man them things are huge. They look 10" long beside the scale laying there. Nice job!!!! Coley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 Beautiful work LaPala. Really Beautiful Work. Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 When I started building hard baits I wanted to "pave my own way" but after spending several hours looking at patents I realized it was impossible! I am suprised to be honest by what the patent office allows for patent. If I take a ford or chevy truck, remove the motor, put in a modified motor of some type, paint it a new color, put on different bumpers, tires, wheels, and seats, is it now a now a "unique concept"? I don't think so but the patent office sure allows that type of thing to happen all the time. I don't think it makes "good business sense" to patent a lure because someone will mod it slightly and use it anyway...save your money. Jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Husky Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 When I started building hard baits I wanted to "pave my own way" but after spending several hours looking at patents I realized it was impossible! I am suprised to be honest by what the patent office allows for patent. If I take a ford or chevy truck' date=' remove the motor, put in a modified motor of some type, paint it a new color, put on different bumpers, tires, wheels, and seats, is it now a now a "unique concept"? I don't think so but the patent office sure allows that type of thing to happen all the time. I don't think it makes "good business sense" to patent a lure because someone will mod it slightly and use it anyway...save your money. Jed[/quote'] If you were to do anything at all, I'd say Copyright the name and the picture/color scheme. It costs very little and lasts for 100 yrs or so. JMHO I just copyrighted the name "Riverman Lures" Yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siebler_custom_baits Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 i can see lp holding a US patent and living in malaysia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 To hell with any "fair use act" !!!!!!!!! Whatever that is...... You made or modified these baits by hand. They are not the same as the originals. Even if they were it would not matter. YOU as an individual are not a threat to the larger bait companies. You could never make enough lures to cause those companies any grief. You are not a factor on their profit. Make all that you want and sell all that you want. Unless you are making tens of thousands of baits a year and taking their profits, they will leave you alone. I know a man that has made a huge pile of money modifying Bagley and Rapala lures and reselling them. As a matter of fact Bagley has talked to him about the modifications that he came up with for their baits. Make your lures, make a little money, and enjoy catching fish on them. That's what it is all about. Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 Yep, what Skeeter said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tally Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 LP, according to a post I read, the copying of lures is a no no and infringing on patents. You might get away with it where you live but I think you better look into the copy laws. I think some companies protect their lures very well. Tally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesehead Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Great looking baits lapala, I want some for myself. I'm a little torn as to if they would be legal or not? Is it a copyright infringement if it's a different size? Or if the shape was slightly modified? maybe a different lip material would do it? I don't know, better let this one for the experts opinion. If they are "legal" would you be able to send me some? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 OK Tally, How in the ^(*& is a bait company going to track down LP? Even if they catch up to him what are they going to get out of him? He is a single guy ( not a company ) making some baits for himself and a few other folks to make a few extra bucks for whatever. LP seems like a normal working man to me. I don't think he drives a Rolls to work. Nor do I think he has a Swiss bank account they could garnish. It just is not worth their time and money to go after him. I mean think about it...... How many baits could he make in a month making them by hand? I have seen the machine that Rapala uses to cut the bodies for their lures. That thing can honestly spit out more bodies in 2 minutes than LP could make in a month. I watched them feed in a 10 ft. piece of 3X6 balsa into that machine and in less than a minute it had devoured the entire piece and was spitting the finished bodies out into a bin. Cheesehead, Go ahead and buy some of the baits from LP. I don't think that the Normark police will show up at your door and run you in. If they do...... let me know and I will put up your bail. Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bladesandbaits Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 And here endeth the lesson on the "fair use clause" :grin: Amen Brother Skeeter,Amen Blades and Baits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaPala Posted April 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 I'll gladly make some & sell guys, I'll even sign it as they sure don't produce what I make . The way it is, it is legal over here cause I don't think the companies have a patent filed in my country . They can't even stop it going into the US if I mark it as gifts when I send it to u guys (see I'm crooked too :-D ). Besides I can sure use some US dollars to get myself a scroll saw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windknot Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 OK, my understanding is that if you change a certain percentage of the original, patented product, you are not in violation of the law. (Probably wrong here, but with all the patented products, and the "knock-offs" of the product being advertised on the same page, I figure I'm leaning towards correct Anyhow, IF this is true, then I think it would be fair to say LaPala is operating within the confines of the law, as these baits are A: made with a different process B: made with different woods and finishes and C: Look 100% better than the originals :-D Just my 2 cents..and I think I'll copyright it :grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeter Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Here is my point fellas. I am not trying to get anyone in trouble here. Nor am I approving of anyone stealing someones business. I make crankbaits. I make them by hand. I do not do this all day long for a living. ( And most of us here on the site don't either ). I make baits because I love them and cherish the art. I sell some for extra money to buy that new reel, rod, or to make a boat payment. Maybe I will have to step up my production so that I can afford the gas that the Skeeter drinks. LaPala is not Al Capone. People have a choice to buy what they want. LaPala is not putting a gun to anyones face and telling them to buy his lures or he'll take them for a ride. I really don't think that LP has a factory in his basement turning out 1000 baits an hour and selling them under the Rapala name. If Normark goes after some lone guy in Malaysia carving lures on his back porch at a whopping rate of 1 bait an hour to make a few extra bucks, then they need to get a life. I have read some of rockhoppers posts on court battles that cost tens of thousands of dollars. My question is..... What if LP doesn't have tens of thousands of dollars. (Or whatever they use over in Malaysia). All Normark can do is spend their tens of thousands of bucks and slap LP's hand and tell him to quit. If Martha Stewart can get away as light as she did for insider trading and then get out and make millions from her dealings, then I think a judge will not lock up LP for reproducing a lure and selling it for less than $20. Skeeter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallard Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 There is another to side cover when making copies or near copies of baits. It is important that we always sign our work. Some collectors see us as a threat to their hobby. There are some unscrupulous individuals that try to pass our custom baits off as uncateloged originals, causing confusion and hard feeling in the collector world. When we sign or mark our work the confusion is avoided. Most of you would say "who cares about collectors?" but some of us sell to collectors like would to maintain a mutual respect between the two hobbies. If you are proud of your work sign it, if not fish it yourself. OK, I'm back off the soap box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockhopper Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 great lure Lapala & u know u can always do copies for yourself as long as u dont sell them ps Love them colours If a lure is patented,, you """""CAN NOT MAKE IT FOR PERSONAL USE"""""" This is patent infringement, even if you never sell one. Now will a lure company come after you for this ? I doubt it, but it is still moraly wrong you are stealing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
