Date:	Tue, 5 Mar 1996 02:39:22 -1000
From:	robert.pudlo@dbag.ulm.DaimlerBenz.COM (Robert Pudlo)
Message-Id: <9603051239.AA05532@dagobert.dbag.ulm.DaimlerBenz.COM>
Organization: Division of Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Subject: Gecko and Piranha plans

Hello rec.kiters,

in my homepage, I mentioned that in the near future, a plan for a Peter-
Lynn-type Gecko and Piranha should be available.

I'm sorry to say that this will most probably not happen. I contacted Peter
Lynn to get his o.k. for publishing the plans (I intended to publish them
in DrachenMagazin as well as on my homepage), but unfortunately got a fax
>From PL indicating the following:

>Thank you very much of informing us of your intentions and of course I
>like to encourage people to build kites. Copyright infringement is a big
>problem for us however, because any one copy or set of plans published
>may not in itself make a big difference to our sales, but once the door
>opens even a little bit it tends to swing right open and hurts us badly.

>Infringement is not about the exactitude of the copy - it is about whether
>a copy looks like the original to a relatively uninformed person - even
>at a distance. We have recently been talking to (...) . We want to find a
>way to allow you to do it - but not if it hurts the job security of our
>employee's.

>The P.L.T. Box is now an open design so you are free to use this design
>as you will. All our other designs are still controlled. We are thinking
>now of allowing the centipede and piranha to enter the public domain,
>but definitely not the gecko, octopus etc.

First of all, I have to indicate that I fully understand PL's point of view
and respect it. I built my gecko only based on photos  (I never took
the measurements of an original or even took one apart). But I know that it's
the idea (the creative part) which is the most difficult one and I can
fully understand PL in wanting to protect it.

According to Axel Voss (publisher of DrachenMagazin) Peter Lynn has some
severe problems with rip-offs of his kites, especially in the US, which
seam to cause major losses to his business. Axel hopes, that he will find
a way to convince Peter Lynn to give his agreement for the publication, but
as long as I have the impression that PL does not fully agree, I won't
publish them.

Sorry for all those who were waiting for the plans to be published (I got
the impression that there was a rather high interest).

I'll add this information to my homepage soon,
sorry for this longish mail,

Robert.

... who could have built some more kites instead of producing those plans.


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_/								    _/
_/   Robert Pudlo         robert.pudlo@dbag.ulm.DaimlerBenz.com     _/
_/								    _/
_/ http://www.pc-labor.uni-bremen.de:80/kites/wwwkites/index.html   _/
_/								    _/
_/  No problem is so big that it can't be solved by a good miracle. _/
_/								    _/
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