Jay Fisher - World Class Knifemaker
Though there are thousands of knives that have been designed throughout millennia, only with modern information exchange and commerce does copyright, intellectual property rights, and the law come into action, and there seems to be a large amount of misinformation, mistaken concepts, and outright ignorance of these concepts, and more importantly, understanding of the law. This page is my attempt to clarify just how copyrights work, and how designs, patterns, images, text, and even ideas are protected in modern times.
The information presented here is not legal advice, and I encourage you to contact (as I have) legal professionals in this field for information that applies to your own experience, interests, and location. I will, however, share what I have learned and where I see many of the problems and issues in this particular field.
Initially, I was going to save this information to be presented in my book, but as time passed, I discovered several circumstances that occurred that prompted me to bring this information into the very public realm of this web site. I hope that you will find some information you can use here, and that it inspires you to respect intellectual property rights, copyright laws, recognize copyright infringement, and protect your investment of knives, labor, artwork, or design from copyright violations.
The knife making world is small. Though there are thousands of knife makers, thousands of manufacturers, boutique shops, importers, and knife outlets, the nature and scope of this very Internet has made the knife world much smaller. If a person is interested in knives, and does enough cruising on the web, he will, sooner or later, see sites that are commonly known in this business, and sites that offer the very information, context, and knives that he's interested in. That is due to the impressive and far reaching significance of search engines, which continuously and unceasingly index words, photographs, descriptions, and contexts within the framework of data that they apply to. My own experience has been proof of that; if you search for knives enough on the Internet, you will, sooner or later, end up on this very site.
Being a prolific maker of knives, a writer, a designer of knives, and a web site developer (some say junkie), I have amassed an immense amount of information here. This includes not only the writing and page content, but graphics, images, and knife designs and patterns. The knives, patterns, text, photographs, and site content are all legally protected by copyright laws.
Knife design is a complicated and time consuming process. Knife design is not simply someone scribbling on a piece of paper to make a neat-looking graphic image. If you want to know more about what goes into knife design, please read through my Custom Knife Design Fee page. The act of designing knives is a true skill and art, and the craft of bringing that art to the page is only one step in the process, but a very important, necessary, and valuable step.
It is one thing to scratch out a loose profile with a pencil on some scrap paper. It is quite another to develop the feasible knife design pattern with the arrangement, balance, contour, components, and style that allows the pattern to be made into a viable, salable, and worthwhile product that we call a knife. Usually, this requires the skill of the knife maker himself; it is seldom that a simple designer has the experience to envision his knife in a completed state, and what problems he may run into developing the pattern that will occur when he tries to have the design made into a solid form. Things like contour in multiple directions and dimensions, mechanical stresses in the blade, attachment methods, center of balance, center of percussion, grip size and orientation, limitations of the materials used to build the knife, and accessories and carry are seldom considered by the person who does not actually make the knife. So why not rely upon the experience, talent, and labor of others, and use the designs they have created? Why not just copy the pattern of a knife maker who is successful? After all, he has already done the hard work of this critical stage.
Because, unless the design is in the public domain, use of their patterns, designs, and labor without their permission is illegal.
For decades, there has been little said about knife patterns in this tradecraft, as makers just cruised around, looking for neat looking knives to make, copying others work, occasionally making changes and adjustments to suit their particular interests. But the practice of copying someone else's work without their permission is illegal.
Having designs stolen is like working for an employer who decides to pay someone else for your labor while you go home with empty pockets.
--Jay
Though this page may be interesting and of note to many readers, I request that special attention be paid by knife makers, knife designers, and any agent that works in the field of modern custom, handmade, artistic, or even factory knives. The issues on this page are real; they apply to any person, company, or interest who makes a knife that is not in the public domain of design. You can read about Public Domain in the section below.
I've heard several times that I should be honored that someone would want to copy my works. Would the same apply to any artist who creates a work in sculptural form, written form, or visual form? How honored would you feel if you had put hundreds or maybe thousands of hours into a work of any kind, only to have the design copied and imitated, cheapening your work as it becomes mass produced? How would you feel if someone else profited, perhaps more than you have, when your work is copied and distributed? All of your labor and effort is now paying someone else and all they had to do is steal it. Not very comforting is it? This is why copyright law exists; it is simply a matter of fairness. It's funny how many makers may try this and claim "no harm done," until they are the ones ripped off.
The other people who are victimized are the clients who may work with the maker on the designs. Guys like me have a lot of those folks, who have contributed their own original ideas to bring a knife idea into a solid and tangible form. When the design is stolen from the maker, it's also stolen labor that they have contributed.
These are real laws, meant to protect everyone who creates in our modern world.
Section 102 of the Copyright Act states:
Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any
tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced,
or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. Works of authorship include
the following categories:
This is the current Copyright Act, and it is the law.
In the world of knives, particularly knives that are artistic, conceptual, self-created, and unique, the category that applies is {Section 102, (5)}.
Knives are considered sculptural works, particularly if they are not common tools in the public domain and the depiction of those knives in both pattern form and completed form are both sculptural works and graphic works. All designs when presented in the photographic (such as, but not limited to, JPEG file formats) or graphic line form (such as, but not limited to, GIF file formats) used on the Internet are considered graphic works and are protected, and also are considered pictorial works and are protected. All the words on the page are considered literary works, and are also protected.
The author of these copyrighted works has exclusive rights {Section 106 (1,2,4,5)}. He may reproduce his own work, make copies, publicly display his work while retaining his rights. That is what you see here on this web site, and in my CD ROM archives. I retain exclusive rights, even though the work is publicly displayed.
A created knife must not be copied without the direct permission of the owner of the copyright, which is the original maker. The law that applies is Section 102, (5).
While no one likes their work copied, cheapened, or mass produced, this is a real threat to the value of the knife in its original form. Custom handmade knives and their inherent value depends on the amount of the knives made, by whom they are made, and when they are made, as well as the quality of the craftsmanship and the design form. If the form is copied, it cheapens the knife as a unique form, devaluing it. While it may be said in the world of knives that no one can imitate fine craftsmanship, there will be those law breakers who will try. The effort, training, study, practice, skill, and experience necessary to complete the work of art belongs to the artist and his heirs, and that is why the value is protected for 70 years after his death. This is the law.
A knife pattern that is an original work by the knife artist (that's me) and is not in the public domain is a protected work and can not be copied in any way without my direct permission. {Section 102 (a)(5)}.
One may think that the pattern is just a scribble, an outline of no consequence, but this is not true. The pattern is an effort of graphic and sculptural creation, and is also protected. To discount this is to say that an artist's pencil drawing is not a work of protected art, simply because it is simple and bold in form with no shading, no ink, no color, and no depth of field represented. It is not up to casual judgment as to the value of a created drawing, graphic, or form. If it is an original work it is protected.
A knife pattern that I have copyrighted and is used to create a knife without my direct permission is a derivative of my creation, and is also copyright protected. {Section 103 (a)}.
If you make a simple comparison, you'll get the concept behind this protection. Consider an artist who sculpts in wax, and has the work cast in bronze. The artist owns the copyright on his sculptural work from the moment that the work comes into being. Whether he registers his copyright or not, his work is protected. He is now protected from copyright infringement for 70 years after his death. Let's say the foundry who cast his original artwork decides to cast more pieces with the mold they possess, the mold made from his original wax product. Since they are making the casting in bronze, not wax, it's not technically his work, is it? Wrong, because it is a derivative of his original work. It is his work, it is protected, and casting the copy is illegal.
Derivatives are based on art reproductions, and since the knife pattern itself is a protected form, so is any derivative of that form. Besides copying the completed knife, taking the pattern by photograph or any other means from the knife maker's web site and creating an unauthorized copy is also illegal.
Knives that are already in the public domain are not copyright protected. These are knife patterns that have had the copyright expire. This means that time has elapsed since the creation, or the works were offered to the public domain. In knives, this refers to any old work, historic work, or commonly recognized work.
How do you know if the work you are creating is in the public domain? If it's been around a while, and you see it in historic context, you can be sure you're not stepping on anyone's toes. Take the traditional Bowie knife, for instance. It's been in the public domain for many decades, in fact the actual design shape originated first in Medieval butcher knives. So, it's not copyright protected. Do I have some Bowie knife designs on my site on the patterns page? Sure I do, as do many other knife makers or designers. These may be copied as they originate in the public domain.
How do you find out if a knife pattern on a knife maker's site is available and in the public domain? Simply ask. Do not assume that the pattern you think is in the public domain, as many patterns may be similar to what has been around a while, but have distinctive differences that may not be readily apparent to you.
Always ask if the pattern or work is copyrighted or if it is available in the public domain!
It's funny how much trouble and uncertainty can be avoided simply by asking the maker or designer who posts his designs on his web site if you can copy them. He may say no, but he may say yes. He may be able to inform you if the design and work is in the public domain or if it is an original creation. He may be able to give you information about the design, its history, where it originated, how it was adapted, modified, and created into form. He may even grant you permission to use one of his designs, and even permission to use his name, which may actually help to increase the value of your knife!
But you have to ask. Slipping into someone's website to cut, copy, and paste copyrighted material for your own personal financial benefit while being too lazy, impolite, or inconsiderate to ask is not just morally deficient, it's wrong, it's illegal, and you can be prosecuted. Assuming that you have permission is also a mistake. To illustrate, I've had foreign interests steal designs from my site, and then when they are confronted, they tell me they'll use my name and give me 10 percent of the profit from what they have stolen!
While prosecutions may not be in open and public forms, the revelation that you are a person, company, or entity that is known to steal other's work will be quite readily revealed on the Internet, and possibly in publications and common conversation. Your dreams of making it big off someone else's labor and creations will fail. The knife world is fairly small, and everybody talks!
Simple solution: Always Ask First!
Copyright protection lasts for 70 years after the original copyright owners death {Section 302 (a)}.
Just like the patterns and the graphics representing them, the photographs on the web site are protected. {Section 102, Section (a)5}. It is illegal to cut, copy, paste, and use the photographs for any representation, presentation, web site, reproductions, or copies. Think about that before you copy a link to a picture for your MySpace page. On most sites, this practice is illegal. The prosecution of this will continue to grow, and the lackadaisical practice of stealing images will be heavily policed as the internet grows. Don't do it. Ask for Permission!
This one is already highly prosecuted. You will face litigation if you copy textual works, and this commonly happens. People will risk and lose their entire fortune, simply because they are too lazy to write their own words, and choose to steal them from others. Section 102 (a)1 protects Literary Works. Literary works are works, other than audiovisual works, expressed in words, numbers, or other verbal or numerical symbols or indicia, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as books, periodicals, manuscripts, phonorecords, film, tapes, disks, or cards, in which they are embodied. This includes web site material which is embodied on magnetic media of a computer disc or computer memory.
Guess what? Ideas can not be copyright protected, but the way they are presented can be. So you can read, learn, and think like someone from their published works, and you may keep those ideas for your own. You can also keep facts, systems, and methods of operation for your own, so please feel free to learn them from me; it's the least I can do. Just don't copy and paste them from my or someone else's web site, because that's presentation, and that's protected!
Some idiot who stole a pattern and photograph of a completed knife from my web site and reproduced it for sale insisted he could do so because I didn't have a patent. Okay, let's get this straight: A patent is issued for a device, mechanism, invention, or discovery. A knife is a form, it's not a new discovery, and most have no mechanisms or devices. Most fixed blade knives and most folding knives and their designs are not patentable. Something that would be patentable would be a folding knife locking or operating mechanism that is not already in the public domain.
People confuse these terms (patents and copyrights) all the time, and that's just ignorance. Knives are protected under intellectual property right laws with copyright law, not patent law. It doesn't mean that they are any less protected; it's still illegal to copy them without permission of the copyright owner.
Trademarks
protects symbols, phrases, designs, or words that identify the
source of the knife, like a brand name. So this means for me
that my maker's mark and name is my trademark and cannot be
used without my permission. This distinguishes my work and
products from others.
So what's the answer here? How do you go about your business in this world without stepping on anyone's toes, or worse, losing your home, business, money, and belongings and spending some time in prison? Simple really:
I hope that this page helps others define, understand, and respect the labor and artwork of not only me and my contemporaries, but other artists in our modern world. There is a distinct lack of conversation about these critical issues, and I believe it is because the Internet in its form has only been around for a dozen years or so. As more people confront the very substantial issues of copyright and protections, it is my hope that I have offered some answers they can use.
I encourage you to create your own intellectual property, and to respect the intellectual property of others!
Thanks for being here!