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Hi

I want to use the forgeworld cadian respirator head upgrade,but it doesnt come with enough for a squad so if i bought a pack and used the heads to make a cast would it be illegal.souley for personal use

Dunno about illegal, not a legal expert like.

But it's definitely a breach of copyright.

Other companies do similar heads in the right scale for much much cheaper. In fact, try maxmini.

Spookily enough, there ad is plsying right now in the top right as I post this. Serendipitous?

youre generally allowed to make things for your own personal use.

you are NOT allowed to make copies and then try to sell them on or distribute them (although it wont be looked on too harshly if you give them to friends, as long as nobody tries to sell them).

there are a fair number of people that make casts of GW stuff. as long as youre the only one using the finished products you should be fine.

Yes, it is illegal.

Brice

"it's a widely held misconception that you can freely make use of someone else's copyrights, without their permission, as long as it's for your own private use - this is currently not an automatic exemption to copyright" - as on games-workshop site

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/c-useenforce-use-exception.htm - exception list on IP office site.

"Do not cast any materials that are based upon Games Workshop material. Games Workshop has to maintain a strict policy on this to fight counterfeiters. We would also remind you that reproduction for personal use is NOT an automatic exclusion in respect of copyright protection in many territories worldwide." - also on GW site.

It's not hard information to find. Wether or not GW would bring legal action against you if you were discovered is another matter.

HI

Thanks guys

im still confused though as everyone has there own opinions????
and about maximini they have 1 set of heads and there not what im lookin 4
neither are the pig iron or westwind.i really like the forgeworl heads

It is illegal, but unless you go blabbing on about it in the GW/forgeworld central offices or start selling them in mass quantities you probably won't be in any great risk of the iron fist of the GW legal department slamming into you.

well id say since you said youd mostly use them for personal things yea who cares. if your going to a tournament obviously they will be painted and who would be the wiser if you didnt say anything. sides they have said that minis should be what 75% GW? if thats true then the rest of the mini would make over 75% anyways. SO yes. go ahead and do it

its illegal but the smart thing to do is not mention it if you are going to do it.

This kind of question comes up regularly on DakkaDakka. There was a long thread recently about recasting OOP models, for example.

Copying other people's stuff is nearly always breaking copyright.

There are several easy methods of getting the bits you need because they are in production.

You could just buy extra packs of figures. You could trade with friends or on eBay to get the heads. You could visit wargame shows and look for bits sellers. You could contact Forge World direct and ask if they would sell you the heads.

fw does not sell parts only full sets I asked =\

Well done for asking.

However, it does not make it legal to cast your own copies if they don't sell individual items.

mmm i think i may cast not to sure,im going to ask forgeworld if they can sell the heads sepretly first liek the elysians

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/218618.page

This would be the thread to read. Except, ignore all the people who insist that
this would be legal. They all get quoted in the correct responses anyway

I Know it is illegal now!lol

but say i buy the set then i recast just the amount of heads i need extra to finish the squad.then for my second squad i buy another pack and recast the heads from that,to be honest that doesnt seem wrong illegal yes wrong no.Im buying the bits i need its not my fault forgeworld liek to rip people of left right and center why sell the upgrade kit if it cant upgrade the squad fully,i will be recasting the heads and in forgewold come knocking at my door ill tell them exactly that.there a bunch of money making just like GW

Sounds like you've made your decision as to what you're going to do. If you're looking for us to justify that decision by saying, "go ahead, it's only for your use, yada yada yada" I think your looking in the wrong place. Everybody who has posted has given their position, and a few have told you outright that it's illegal to do it. Go do it, but don't expect us to give you justification. Doesn't matter how many sets you buy, the first time you recast it, you are breaking the law. For the amount of trouble it is to recast, I'd rather just spend the money and buy the sets already made.

If they come knocking on your door, what you tell them won't matter much at all--at least until the federal prosecutor gets a hold of it. . .

Brice

Realistically if you recast the items it's highly unlikely that it will ever be found out or that GW would bother suing you for a small number of items.

So it would be a matter for your conscience.

Kilkrazy wrote:Well done for asking.

However, it does not make it legal to cast your own copies if they don't sell individual items.

I never said that it did make it legal I was just letting yall know that FW does not just sell parts only whole kits. =P

Well on the basis of nor upsetting the daka community i will not recast them ill ques westwind will get my money.also i still stand on my view of forgeworld.and what fedral prosecution service im in the uk and they wont come to your house unless youve bean shot stabbed burnt and then they still take days!

Actually, contrary to what so many companies try to make you think, there is nothing illegal about making something for yourself. You can make as many as you like, you just can NOT sell, gift, or mis-represent them. Not only would it be impossible for GW to legally discover whether or not you are making castings for yourself, but it would be impossible for them to press charges, as long as you did not distribute them.

It is just like with anything else. I can make a chair just like some company's chair, but as long as i do not sell it as their chair, then they can't do anything about it. GW sells a product, they can only defend their product, not what you ultimately decide to do with it.

I love the "justifications" for breaking the law / theft
it's the same as people stealing a chocolate bar from the dollar store "oh, but it's only $0.50, that's not really theft"

whatever helps you sleep at night

Don't ask, Don't tell

I'm with him^. In terms of copyright legality - probably - YMMV (your country's laws are different from mine). Wrong? That's a moral choice, not a legal one. I'm not the type to enforce my morality upon anyone else.

Don't ask, don't tell.

Between you and your conscience, that way.

Besides, a well made recast is indistinguishable from an original. Especially in resin. The trick would be getting the identical crappy resin that FW has their subcontractors use. The giveaway would be if your casts were of a better quality than FW.

Im just wondering, and this isn't a rhetorical question I'm genuinely curious, What would make casting a forgeworld head and using that cast to produce replicas for private use any different than using plasticard to reproduce their titans?

In the basics there is no difference -- these are both infringements of copyright.

However a Titan is just a 2-legged walking robot, which is a generic design that has been widely used (Battletech, Gundam, etc) so GW could not claim copyright in its basic form.

If you make a model 2-legged robot, but you make it sufficiently different so as not to copy FW's design of details, your model will not be infringing GW's copyright.

Skinnattittar wrote:Actually, contrary to what so many companies try to make you think, there is nothing illegal about making something for yourself. You can make as many as you like, you just can NOT sell, gift, or mis-represent them. Not only would it be impossible for GW to legally discover whether or not you are making castings for yourself, but it would be impossible for them to press charges, as long as you did not distribute them.

It is just like with anything else. I can make a chair just like some company's chair, but as long as i do not sell it as their chair, then they can't do anything about it. GW sells a product, they can only defend their product, not what you ultimately decide to do with it.

Does this post mean...

(A) As long as someone doesn't find out, it is not a copyright infringement?
or
(B) Something I do in orivate is not a copyright infringement, whether people find out or not?

What is the difference between recasting, and just making a very good copy using plasticard? Legally, not a lot. You would still be violating/copying their ip rights.

The faces of IA (are modellers and gamers) would go "cool skills". The legal dogs would go "infringement of xxxx. Release the hounds!".

What is legal is not necessarily the right thing. Conversely, just because it is illegal, doesn't automatically make it a "wrong" thing to do.

Speed would be the main difference. It's faster to cast from a mould than to construct from scratch.

Kilkrazy wrote:

Skinnattittar wrote:Actually, contrary to what so many companies try to make you think, there is nothing illegal about making something for yourself. You can make as many as you like, you just can NOT sell, gift, or mis-represent them. Not only would it be impossible for GW to legally discover whether or not you are making castings for yourself, but it would be impossible for them to press charges, as long as you did not distribute them.

It is just like with anything else. I can make a chair just like some company's chair, but as long as i do not sell it as their chair, then they can't do anything about it. GW sells a product, they can only defend their product, not what you ultimately decide to do with it.

Does this post mean...

(A) As long as someone doesn't find out, it is not a copyright infringement?
or
(B) Something I do in private is not a copyright infringement, whether people find out or not?
or
(C) As long as no-one finds out, I can get away with it?

Well i seem to have created quite the stir (sorry mods) well i think your all takin it a bit to far its a little plastic head no court in england will charge me for making a little plastic head that another company make.but i have an idea say i got the heads and did minor greenstuff work to them and cast them i have produced a one off design and cast it so its not against the law i think