Big Dawg Originals - Intellectual property theft

[Rapido]

Catt

Not defending BD,but I would like to know how Jason knows possitivly that BD's F-40 uses his shell.

Hi Johnathan,

Draw a picture.

Have someone else photocopy it.

I bet you can tell it's a copy of your picture.

When you make a model train, it's like a drawing or a sculpture. You put your own "imprint" on it. You can tell instantly when someone has copied it. There are numerous details that are unique to your model, such as the height of the battens, the diameter of the rivets, the way the shell is mounted to the chassis, the radius of each corner. 

I can assure you 100% that the Big Dawg model is a recast of our shell.

-Jason

[selector]

fieryturbo

 

 

 

 

...

I'm sorry that Jason's work got ripped off, that's a new mold and it's not cool to go and do that.  However, I do see the point of Big Dawg that he's filling a need that would go otherwise unfulfilled because of whatever reason (in my case, only UP or fantasy modelers would care about a GP30B)

I'm of the opinion that "wrong" is kind of subjective here.  ...

I know the laws are probably more straightforward on this sort of thing butI do agree that the latter definitely goes against the spirit of the hobby.

 

A drug pusher is also fulfilling a need.  At least, thats what his clients tell him, and that's what he believes in order to continue to take their money, hoping they'll return again and again.  The problem is...there's no need.  It's all want and greed.  Big difference.

I don't understand why you can admit your conscience isn't clear, but also that you'd say publicly you'll avail yourself of dubious goods.  As an ethicist, this baffles me.  Your desire for a simple model shell will allow you to abandon your principles?  Really?  You say you are now convinced that Jason has a new shell that Dawg is copying, and that it's not cool...but you sound very keen to purchase one as soon as you can.  You can't have it both ways unless you'd like to be not cool as well.  What other conclusion is there?

Well, it must be the case that Big Dawg has many clients who think as you do, otherwise he'd be going broke. 

I wonder if Jason is on his Christmas list.

[cx500]

We should also remember that when Jason went public, he had two messages.  One was to complain, justifiably, about the theft of his intellectual property. 

But perhaps more usefully to the model community, it was to advise us that buying from Big Dawg was probably a waste of money.  You did get a shell, but that was all.  The necessary parts to complete the project correctly were simply not available, and weren't going to be available.  Putting a shell from one prototype on the frame of a significantly different version defeats the desire for an exact model.  And Jason had already heard from several folks who had been bitten by that pitfall. 

The modeler who created the original master did it by kit-bashing the genuine Rapido product, adding other commercially available detail parts and likely some of his own.  That is a legitimate and longstanding practice in the hobby when done for your own personal pleasure.  It can even be sold commercially as long as the seller has previously purchased a base shell and detail parts for EACH model (perhaps with a volume discount). Then all that is added is labor.  

 

[ricktrains4824]

Which is exactly why, although an SD60E would be cool, especially in NS911, I will be looking elsewhere.

If Dawg has (not quite faithfully, and not at all ethically) copied once, he will/would/has again.

Even if manufacturers made available parts, I do not wish to contribute to any questionable business practices when I have good reason to believe they exist. I take my money elsewhere. Or, I save it as that item is not really that necessary after all.