ORIGINAL: planebuilder66
That brings up another topic, designers,....if say goldberg is now owned buy great planes, but the good old extra and sukhoi are no longer being made, obviously, golberg/GP no longer want's to pay for the patent rights to it, so it reverts to the designer on the print. What's the chance that the original designer would like to make a few extra bucks and re-release the kit under a new supplier? I'm assuming that GP or CGM wouldn't bother with leagal litigation, especially since they bought CGM after the discontinuation of the product? Any Ideas, midwest kits, CGM, Royal/makutria,Pilot?
It is most likely not an issue of
patent rights. If it were, then the issue is easier. Patents expire or protection lapses for various reasons such a the non-payment of maintenance fees. Once expired or lapsed, there are no protections. This is what happens to drugs when their patents expire. Generics are manufactured when the primary drug has gone "off patent".
Copyrights are another thing entirely. They do not expire. If GP (or anyone else) has acquired the copyright for a design, they are entitled to the protection of that property. That isn't to say that we as modelers do not have any options when it comes to designing but copyright infringement is different than violating patent rights. What those options are is a subject for another post.
As an FYI, I pretty much live in this space.