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July 22, 2011
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….no matter what anyone tells you. If you are copying someone’s product, whether you are selling it or using it for your own purposes, it is STEALING. You newer guys to the industry may not understand what this is, and if you are not eyeballs deep in the industry you probably don’t know how big of a problem this is.
If someone tells you to order your favorite or best “SELLING” forms and they will reproduce them for you, don’t do it. If you happen to be in someone else’s shop and they are pouring their on forms that are products of a supplier not sculpted by them and they say they have permission as long as they don’t sell to other taxidermist, that is a lie, it is illegal.
If you think you can’t get in serious trouble, just Google Dan Chase. If you are participating in these kind of practices, you will get caught. There is a compilation of names being gathered, and it is growing everyday….and there are witnesses as well.
TAKE THIS AS A WARNING!!! People do know and are talking.
In 27 years in this industry, I can honestly say I have never copied or purchased bootlegged products and sleep well tonight. CAN YOU?
I know a guy very well from the mid west who had an ex employee sneak into his shop and film all the molds he had copied from a large taxidermy supplier. The large taxidermy supplier tried to sue him for 1 Million dollars, after $16,000 lawyer bill it was settled outside of court.
I am sure if the supplier pushed hard enough the taxidermist would have spent some time in jail.
May 29, 2013
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WILLFUL AND OUTRAGEOUS CONDUCT.[B] [/B] An excerpt from one of the infringement suits.
Chase moved for summary judgment on the ground that Superior Form’s mannequins are not copyrightable because they are “useful articles” that do not have separable and independent sculptural features. The district court denied the motion, ruling as a matter of law that the taxidermy mannequins are copyrightable since they have no utilitarian function other than portraying the appearance of an animal and that such a portrayal is “unquestionably a permanent artistic object.” The case proceeded to trial before a jury on the issues of whether Chase infringed Superior Form’s copyrights and whether the infringement was willful. The jury returned a special verdict, finding in favor of Superior Form on all issues and awarding Superior Form the maximum statutory damages of $100,000 on each of the four works that Chase had copied. The district court denied Chase’s motion for a new trial and, following a hearing, awarded Superior Form $74,104.50 in attorneys fees and costs. The court found that Chase had been involved in similar infringement suits for years and that only “substantial awards of damages as well as attorney’s fees will deter Mr.Chase from continuing this willful and outrageous conduct.” From the judgment entered, Chase appeals.
July 22, 2011
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Due to a Private Message I received, I edited my original post as not to “Make A Stink”. :rolleyes: Apparently I stepped on someones toes, and they went through a third party to get the message to me.
Message received: But fact is, this is not going away….and if you think you can’t get caught and it be proven, you are WRONG!
You remember that new client that came in with a deer head this past year? Was he really a hunter? Or is he just collecting evidence? It’s amazing what you can find when you tear apart a freshly mounted deer. Ah, maybe a bootlegged form. This goes for Turkeys, Duck etc.
I can’t wait to see who learned anything from my post, that client may come back with another deer this year, or it could be another new client. You have no way of knowing. Thats kind of scary isn’t it?
Oh, yeah there is paper work(record books/invoices) that goes a long with these mounts.
July 22, 2011
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Jeremy Morgan wrote: I know a guy very well from the mid west who had an ex employee sneak into his shop and film all the molds he had copied from a large taxidermy supplier. The large taxidermy supplier tried to sue him for 1 Million dollars, after $16,000 lawyer bill it was settled outside of court.
I am sure if the supplier pushed hard enough the taxidermist would have spent some time in jail.
He told me the story this year at a show.
June 24, 2013
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Its a huge amount of work to produce these originals! I hope anyone thats piraten forms is to get busted! That undercover stuff can b happenig at anytime!!!! anywhere!!! Glad u stepped on somebodys toes D!
Try to be open minded and always strive to be better!
July 22, 2011
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Wonder who’s this one is/was?
That looks like the molds they had back in the day where they use to lay glass up in the mold to make the cast part
July 22, 2011
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Jeremy Morgan wrote: That looks like the molds they had back in the day where they use to lay glass up in the mold to make the cast part
Very good Jeremy, what gave it away? The big opening in top of the head, or the fact that it only has two small screws holding it together?
