Every Star Trek Blueprint in existence!?!

[Jag2112]

Thanks Starlock -- any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also - LCARS24 - I'd be happy to post your wrote on my site - with link-backs to your site of course... I could create a unique page for your collection of schematics if you were interested.

If not, I understand of course -- though I'd love to see what you've come up with --

-John

[Starlock]

All Righty! I'll take a quick inventory of what I have and let you know next week.

[sojourner]

Ptrope wrote:

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Since this seems to be on the up-and-up, and it is undoubtedly a valuable resource for modelers, artists and fans alike, I'll go ahead and sticky it - at least for awhile.

Wow! Only a Lt. Commander and already stickied! I feel honored.

P.S. thanks for correcting spelling error in title!

[Captain Robert April]

sojourner wrote:

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Huh, well, I have been lurking here for at least 2 years and don't remember seeing anything about the site before.

The main furor was over on the Trek Tech area.

[JNG]

Jag2112 wrote:

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I hope you can all find it useful.

-John

Very much so, and thanks for making the site.

[NCC621]

It's worth noting that just because something may not be currently available for sale, it does NOT necessarily mean that the rights owners have released their work into the public domain. Silence does not give consent.

Indeed, sites like this one can be a strong disincentive for commercial artists and publishers to invest in future works.

[Captain Robert April]

Since the vast majority of those blueprint sets are/were unlicensed in the first place, then they were illegal to begin with, so they have very little room to bitch.

[NCC621]

While you certainly have a point, not everything that this guy is ripping off is unlicenced.

But even though some blueprints are unlicenced, Paramount still owns the underlying intellectual property, so their rights are being infringed, both by the original artists, AND by the guy running the website. You know what they say about two wrongs...

[Captain X]

The only thing Paramount/CBS would have any right to bitch about would be the official blueprints that are still being published and sold. All the fan created stuff is fine, as long as no money is being made off of it, as per the legal agreement worked out back in the '90s. So the people selling the blueprints they've made could be sued for selling the work they've based off of a property Viacom owns, but the webmaster of this site is hardly responsible for that.

[NCC621]

No, the webmaster is liable not only to Paramount, but also to the artists/publishers of the blueprints in question.

Fan-created stuff is not necessarily "fine," wishful thinking aside. Even though the studio has often looked the other way, it hardly means that they're relinquishing their intellectual property rights or that they will always tolerate those who use their property.

[Shaw]

NCC621 wrote:

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Fan-created stuff is not necessarily "fine," wishful thinking aside. Even though the studio has often looked the other way, it hardly means that they're relinquishing their intellectual property rights or that they will always tolerate those who use their property.

If you don't actually know about copyright laws, then maybe you shouldn't be spreading this type of FUD.

For me, and the works I've done, I've endeavored to stay strictly within the frameworks of fair use (as defined by US Copyright Law). For those interested in seeing a case where the boundaries of fan created materials were discussed, I would suggest reading this article and the accompanying decision.

While everyone has to decide for themselves what they'll do here, I have set standards that I follow in all of my shared works.

Those of us who don't practice this type of law really have no place trying to pretend that we can hold this stuff over others... or give any legal advice (beyond suggesting reading it for yourself or hiring an attorney). But fortunately the law was designed to protect people on both sides of this issue.

[Ptrope]

Copyrights and fandom, and Star Trek fandom in particular, have a long and storied history. Most fan websites infringe the copyrights of the holders of those rights, with the enormous amount of material such as screen captures, audio and video clips - even avatars frequently infringe copyrights. It's not a matter of whether the infringing material is sold or given away, by the letter of the law, most use of copyrighted material could be considered infringing, even that which is defended by the fair use clause - copyright holders are not unknown in defining "fair use" in whatever terms is most beneficial to themselves and their profits. And yet, the symbiotic relationship of creators and fandom continues, one side offering up intellectual property for consumption, and the other side often incorporating that property into forms and functions that both serve their own ends and create positive feedback for the IP owners, providing incentive (usually financial) to them to create more IP. While this is no legal justification for copyright infringement, it is a recognized phenomenon which, under tacit rules, continues, often to the benefit of all involved.

This thread is not a forum for legal arguments; it is merely a resource for fans seeking out another fan-related resource that might be beneficial to their pursuit of the facts and fiction of Star Trek's art and technology. This site is neither responsible for that site's content nor its legal standing; however, since it appears that the site's owner has worked with the owners of the material which is posted, and limited the exposure of licensed material, I see no reason not to allow it to be linked from this board. Anyone who feels there is a legitimate complaint to be made should do so in the appropriate venue, which is not this board. Thanks for your input and your compliance with this request.

[ancient]

Ah cool a link. Ever since I switched to a different computer - I moved - my fav link to this site didn't seem to work. Probably just old.

I think it's a great site, especially if you want to share your stuff with the online fandom. My AACHEN is on that site, and if I ever get around to doing anything else it'll probably end up there too. I've been super busy lately so I've dropped all my projects temporarily.

So, legally, what's the deal with a ship like mine? I mean, it is obviously a Trek ship but it uses no stock parts. It doesn't even have a U.S.S. registry or phasers. So legally I'm in the clear, right?

[Forbin]

ancient wrote:

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So, legally, what's the deal with a ship like mine? I mean, it is obviously a Trek ship but it uses no stock parts. It doesn't even have a U.S.S. registry or phasers. So legally I'm in the clear, right?

Yup.

[Captain Robert April]

Legally, it might still be actionable, but even a first year law student could tell it wouldn't be worth the time and effort to even begin litigation.

They might try and scare the crap out of you with a C&D letter, though...