Popular Woodworking 2008-11 № 172, страница 50
I .ike their design counterparts, utility patents can be infringed even if the reproduction maker does not slavishly copy the original. Utility patent infringement occurs when the reproduction piece incorporates the combination of features clai med i n one of the numbered paragraphs at the end of a utility patent. In addition tospendinghundredsofthousandsof dollars in a lawsuit, infringers will be ordered to compensate the patent holder. The utility patent shown on the next page is for the Balans Variable Chair, memorable for supporting the occupant in a semi-kneeling posture. In the mid-1980s, the patent owners sued a competitor alleging infringement. To trek safely around all possible utility patent traps, the reproduction furniture maker should again consider the age of the inspirational furniture. Utility patents have a slightly longer lifespan than design patents - 20 years. Furniture commercialized more than 20 years earlier, therefore, is not likely to remain fettered by utility patents. If the furniture piece to be copied is less than 20 years old and has unique attributes that could possibly be protected with a utility patent, a qualified patent lawyershould be engaged to search and evaluate the patent records. Copyrights Copyrights are a third form of intellectual property threat lo the reproduction furniture maker. Copyright can be used to protect purely stylistic elements found in furniture design, including original works of applied decorative carvings or emblems, custom fini-als, original paint schemes, fabric patterns and such. Copyrights have somewhat limited application to furniture design. The law has developed so that copyright protection should not overlap the domains reserved for patents. As a consequence, there are many boundaries placed on copyrights. For example, the overall shape of the furniture piece cannot be copyrighted - that is reserved to design patents. Korean any functional features be copyrighted, in deference to utility patents. Even truly artistic features that are inseparably integrated into the structure of furniture cannot be copyrighted, for fearof encroaching into the patent domain. To illustrate this last point, think of a shield-back chair with particularly artistic fretwork. If the fretwork isan integral portion of the backrest, the chair may not function properly without it. Therefore, the fretwork pattern is deemed inseparable from the structure and probably not copyrightable. Many furniture companies routinely register copyrights covering distinctive artistic elements in their furniture designs, and do not seem reluctant to enforce those copyrights. Undercurrent U.S. law, a copyright automat ically attaches the moment the "work" is created, and endures for the author's life plus Landscape Forms. This Michigan-based company holds design patent protection on a number of their products that are seen across the world in parks, airports, on college campuses and other public-spaces. The company recently defended its rights to the Austin bench, pictured above. an additional 70 years. In the case of copyrightable works made by a company employee, the durat ion of copyright will be 95 years from its ft rst publ icat ion or 120 years from creat ion, whichever is shorter. Therefore, due to i he longevity of copyright protection, the reproduction furniture maker/seller should be careful when drawing inspiration from any artistic sculptures, carvings or pictorial representations that are less than 120 years old. However, the risk of copyright infringement diminishes considerably if the artistic element at issue is a common feature found in pieces by various woodworkers, or if it is so integrated into the functionality of the piece (like the shield-backchairexample) that it is hard to imagine the feature as a stand-alone work of art. Copyright law, like all other forms of intellectual property law, is infested with terminology, interpretations and exceptions crafted by courts and lawmakers over many years. There is therefore no substitute for consult-inga qualified lawyer ifyou suspect your commercial activity will lead anywhere near another's copyright. Trademarks Tradema rks a re a fourt h category of i ntellect ual property traps for the furniture maker. A wise maker/seller of reproduction furniture will give wide berth to other people's trademark rights, just as they would when crossing the areas laden with patent and copyright i raps. Trademarks protect consumers from mistaking the source ofa product they intend to buy. Consumers rely on trademarks (sometimes subconsciously) to indicate that a product was made or sponsored by a trustworthy source. Gustav Stickley, like many fine craftsmen and women, authenticated his pieces with various forms of trademark, from a red decal with joiners compassand "Als Ik Kan." to paper labels, and eventually a stamped maker's mark. Tradcmarkscan take a wide variety of forms - from words and logos, to colors, shapes, and even sounds and smells. The woodworker reproducing someone else's furniture design should be especially mindful not to copy any maker marks, names, logos or distinctive product shapes (when the furniture shape is protectable as trade dress). Misappropriation of names, logos and maker marks should be rather obvious-refrain from usingeitherihe same or a confusingly similar branding technique asthe original. Forexample, ifsomeone 78 ■ Popular Woodworking November 2008 AOMIN BlNCHPtlOTOCOOKUSY Of lANDSCMtrOKMS. IM_ KAIAM4UU "I' M |
