Schemtic legal ??...

knockbill

Lunatic Member
I found a schem online that I want to breadboard, modify, mess with etc....On the bottom of it it has the designers name and says "property of" a company which may be the designer, but I don't know... I have no interest is selling anything I build from it... Is it OK build something from parts of it, for my use? Seems it should be,,, lots of forums around with Fender schems all over and guys cloning them left and right! and they are still in business...
So, builders, designers, legal guys what do say?
 
I'd think you'd be safe under the fair use clause included in Sec. 107 of the Copyright Act, which basically requires notice of original copyright ownership. So, photocopy the original schematic and glue it to the bottom of the case, and yer good to go.

Then again, if it all goes south and you end up in court, I completely disavow any knowledge of the aforementioned statement. ;-}
 
HA,,, we've all been doing it for years,,, posting mods to commercial amps etc... This one says property of, but no copyright or other "don't use with out permission" notes on it... I guess the catch would be if you used it to build something to sell without cutting the designer in...
OR,,,,just use another schem!!!!!!
 
Where you run into trouble is if you took this schematic, claimed it as your own design, and sold it as such. Something for yourself it won't matter, and who would know anyway?
 
You were okay. Then you posted on a public forum. Now you’re screwed. :D
HA,,, you're involved also!!! I got the idea of a 6L6SE Super Champ from something you posted a while ago!!!! Figured I'd build another chassis, that would fit in the 5F1 box,,, and easily swap em out,,, a couple of mounting screws and the speaker wires and ya got a new amp!!!!
 
Where you run into trouble is if you took this schematic, claimed it as your own design, and sold it as such. Something for yourself it won't matter, and who would know anyway?
All you guys, for instance!!! but everyone here knows I ain't a designer!! Actually, I got the thought from a schem our own thorpej posted, that said "public domain" figured he was sharing it,, as apposed to saying "property of"...
This schem I'm looking at is a SE git amp,, but I wouldn't use the same tubes...
 
The more I look at this, it seems it was designed by a commercial company,,, and "new" designer is reposting the schematic with his mods,,, and IDing the original owners... I really haven't noticed this much before, as a lot of the stuff worked on/modified here is from now defunct companies, but someone may own the name or rights...
Sorry for all the posts,,, can't get the edit switch to work!
 
Its in the public domain now, so basically, if this occurred without the designer's permission or knowledge - the damage has already been done (from an IP perspective).
 
I also don't see where it would be any different if you bought a commercially-made amp, flipped it over and just copied the thing without the schematic.
 
Most protections don't last longer than ~50 years, and then only if you actively protect, so old schematics, especially those in the public domain are never a problem. If a classic design has been updated, then at most the updates might have some protection, but only to the extent the updates were radical enough to go beyond anything that a good technician might normally do.
 
I don't see an issue. It is already out there and publicly available, you already stated that you are intending on modding or tinkering with the design, and you have no intention of setting up a shop in China to crank out 10,000 exact duplicates of the original schematic (for profit). Lots of designers have put their "stuff" out there for others to use--Nelson Pass immediately comes to mind.
 
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