Thanks Curtis for bringing this up, as it's a bit of a weird subject, and somewhat uncomfortable at times when it's your own stuff that's in question. We have a lot of members who have taken the time to come up with unique names and designs, and I think that's a big help in furthering our 'hobby' and building it into a recognizable and viable industry.
The copyright issue has come up in the past with other members' offerings and creations, and it's always a little touchy. It isn't realistic to copyright every name that I come up with at this point because I can't afford it, I don't have time to fill out the paperwork, and the cost involved in enforcing patents and registered names is waaaaay out of my league for a while.
I haven't been sure how to address this issue with regards to my own work, and the associated names that I come up with for my products. I do consider my names proprietary, as well as my designs, as there's a good bit of thought and effort that I put into creating and marketing them. Since this business is my sole source of income, I'm fairly protective of my processes and products. Marketing/branding is a big part of building a successful business, and there's just as much work involved in the 'fluffy' stuff as there is in making sawdust.
I appreciate and agree with Eric's statements, and I think most people feel the same way. Our community sorta polices itself, and that's really comforting. I know there are several members who won't post their work here for fear of it being plagiarized, and their apprehension, while disappointing, is also valid.
The only time I'm ever going to really take issue is if someone sets up right next to me and starts competitively selling against me using 'my' names or designs. Curtis, Eugene and myself have actually talked about this at length. We're all capable of duplicating each other's work, but we don't. There's a couple of major reasons for this - (A) We respect each other and value the friendship that we have which enables us to 'talk shop' about any ideas or problems we have, and (B) There's just so much cool crap out there to dunk in resin that there's NEVER a reason to step on each other's toes.
As far as using "Earth Cast", don't sweat it Rancho! No harm no foul. You were just asking an innocent question.
Gary, as for being a free country, no one can stop you from being rude or shady, but is it good business? I think not, at least for me, and I know you aren't the type to set up camp next to me and start using the same names that I've come up with, either.
I'm not terribly attached to the "Earth Cast" name. It's not nearly as creative as some of the stuff that I come up with, but it's what I picked, and it's become associated with my products, and I'm proud of that. I don't know about the rest of you, but for me it's a rush to create something out of thin air and see it become a popular thing.
Names are just names. It's when you associate them with good products that they start to take on a life of their own. Off the top of my head, I can think of a half dozen other things I could've called my "Earth Cast" blanks -
"Carto Blocks"
"Global Visions"
"Terra Forms"
"Mapwood"
"Planetary Expressions"
"Resin Worlds"
The list goes on...feel free to use those all you want. If I need more, all I have to do is drag out my thesaurus and come up with something useable.
If you want creative input, I'm more than happy to help. Shoot, come on over, I'll fire up the grill, make us a couple of Big Macs and we can sip on some of my fresh squeezed Country Time while we ponder.
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