Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

(I posted it here because it relates to the Greenglo thread and basses.)

Mr. Hall, in light of a recent post in the Amplifiers section, I want to ask if my plans briefly mentioned in the Greenglo thread is acceptable to you. You are an "up-front" guy, so I want to post a simple, honest "up-front" question out of respect for you and your company trademarks.

I am looking to purchase software to aid me in creating a virtual 3D rendered model of variously configured Rickenbacker 400x basses. My motive is only to create and view "dream-configurations" of my favorite material possession, and to generate print-outs on my cheap ink-jet printer only to post on my living room wall.

If I succeed in creating a decent rendering, I wanted to share it with any other Ric bass lover here who also has dreams of configurations that will probably never see the light of day. No money whatsoever involved.

This plan is basically an "upgrade" to previous experiments involving coloring actual photographs, including photos of my own 1994 4003.

I don't see how it would be infringing in any way, but I want to make sure I'm not doing anything offensive to you.

Can I have your permission to do this please?

Thank you,

John Cyg

Please give John your permission, Mr. Hall.

Dream weavers we are...

So, what is it you want to do? The "greenglo" thread didn't seem to tell me much.

Basically I just want to create a 3D drawing. I could then change colors and configurations so I could see what the bass would look like.

It would be no different than scanning a picture to alter colors, materials or trim options in Photoshop, except the "picture" would be a drawing.

If anyone wanted to see a bass in a "dream configuration" (i.e.: transparent blue tiger maple with no pickguard), several mouse clicks later a drawing could be seen.

Since I'm not using exisiting pictures or drawings, I don't think it's wrong to do this. But, but I want to be sure.

Thanks,

John

It seems to me you can create an original drawing of anything you want . . . you don't need my permission to do so.

I think it's more because the Rickenbacker design is being used each time, and he's wondering if that would infringe on Ric copyrights.

I actually have a similar question to that, Mr. Hall. What if there was an animated show where one of the characters carried a Rickenbacker around? It's just like any other live show where a character would be using a Rickenbacker. It could actually be any bass guitar, but it happens to be a Ric 4001. Does that infringe on anything?

Please don't think that this is some random question because I actually have a very good reason for asking...

If something is based upon one of our photos, drawings, or writings, the issue would be copyright.

In the case of the body, head, nameplate, and some parts shapes, and obviously the name, the issue is trademark.

As I said, he can do original artwork depicting our product without infringing either our copyrights or trademarks. The actual use of the name, if accompanied by the ® "circle-r" probably wouldn't raise any eyebrows. It would be different if it was a hard product or used to sell non-Rickenbacker brands of musical products.

An animated show is just a moving drawing, so I think it's the same from my perspective.

One can always write a company to request specific permission, just to be on the safe side, and the worst anyone could do is say no.

Thanks Mr. Hall.