WAD Kt 88 our integrated schematic

[bob orbell]

The reason why this has come up Greg, is because a lot of members have not read and absorbed the original post from Matthew and yourself about the copy right that Matthew holds. Bob

[Matthew Snell]

Hi All

Lots of interesting points and thank you. Further comment is welcome, but there's no need to get things out of proportion.

I had a valid point to make - and I have made it. David and Wieslaw have both responded and I am happy that nothing untoward is happening - this time.

I am not a lawyer (which might be why I'm not rich!) but I think Phil's BMW contribution has plenty going for it. As I understand things WD "owns" the rights to its designs and, when it sells a kit, it effectively licences the purchaser to make one amplifier. Any subsequent "sharing" of the design will not convey a similar licence. But I've always been simple-minded.

We could land up counting the number of fairies that would fit on a pin head. To me, this is more a moral than a legal issue and that is where I was coming from. I hope that's OK!

Best

Matthew

[Really Aardvark]

Thanks Matthew.

If I might offer a couple of closing arguments m'Lud.

On Phil's point, in which he is wholly correct, the converse is also true. If a designer is not an employee but a self-employed contractor (i.e. s/he has no employer) then the copyright in the contracted design remains with the designer unless it is overtly transferred by the contract or some other agreement. I don't know the arrangement in the creation of the Kit88 design. I made, possibly rashly, the assumption that Bob doesn’t either; hence my reply. I would not have replied at all had it been Matthew stating that he holds all copy and other rights to the designs, past and present. If I have offended you, Bob, then I apologise.

If I were to send David an original print of the Kit88 DIY Supplement I don’t believe I would be offending any rights. If I sent him a photocopy then I would be. Of course, I will now be shot down in flames if the 6au6 version was not in a DIY Supplement.

And finally - the answer to the number of fairies is 42….

[bob orbell]

No offence taken at all Greg. Bob

[Shane]

I was wondering about that. Since most of the designs were published in detail in Hi-Fi World, are they not in the public domain anyway?

[Greg.]

Originally Posted by Shane

I was wondering about that. Since most of the designs were published in detail in Hi-Fi World, are they not in the public domain anyway?

They certainly are although not all schematics published in the DIY Supplement were the correct final version. The articles were often based on a prototype and there were further adjustments and changes made prior to final kit release.

Whilst such (potentially unreliable) information is already in the public domain, that does not allow, for example, the unauthorised use of the design to produce clones for anothers commercial gain. Surely that sort of practice is what Matthew would be keen to prevent. When I built a WAD clone (for personal use), I, and the others who did so alongside me, did it with the complete permission and authority of the then owners of WAD.