( et puisque, comme dit/demandé dès le départ, j'allais publier/poster le bazar...)
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Dear André,
Answers inline below.
Best regards,
Robert
Thus spake "andré lanois" <anlanois@skynet.be> on 3/20/12 10:36 AM:
Dear Master Lang,
I'm writing to you asking some questions... about Copyrights!
(I'm french native so I'll hope to be understandable, if not please ask me!)
1/ context:
- I fold Origamis since late 2004, and I'm 47 years old now. (divorced, 3 "old" childrens, artist, computer professional and geobiologist, workless now)
- I made a break/pause folding paper, following a misunderstanding with Hojyo Takashi while asking him about his copyright rules... I folded twice his "God Of Thunder", correcting by the way the related CP published in Tanteidan magazin (a pirated one, from china, the original Tanteidan number beeing unavailable!)... (I didn't mentionned thouse details, I was thinking carrefully to make/establish a first contact!.. But he answered like he was shocked and angry, and didn't answered my following emails of apologises denouncing a quiproquo and asking for an answer.. I thought he put me as "indesirable" (?).. I was then very perturbated and stopped to fold a few monthes later, for about 2 years...) .. I tried recently to solve this problem, what is very important to me, asking Nicolas Terry to intercede for my case to Takashi.. the case is still on the road now (I still wait for some answer or any news).
- (I'm an Aspie, so I'm quite hyper-reactive, hyper-sensitive, hyper-emotional, etc. maybe knowing this will help you to understand why unsolvable misunderstanding obsedes me to quasi-stopping living for a while!)
2/ thanks:
I'm very thankfull to/about you, your work and your publications, among the all community of Origamists! (alas, excepting Takashi while my case still remains unsolved!) ....
(if I folded first your ScorpionII with pirated pdf files found on the net, I bought your books when I was able to!.. . few years ago your books "Origami Design Secret" and "InsectsII" wasn't easily available!!)
Origami Design Secrets has been available from amazon.com and from its publisher, akpeters.com, internationally, since the day it was released. How is that not "easily available?"
Origami Insects II is not so easily available, so I would agree with you there; however, it has been available from OrigamiUSA (http://origamiusa.org/catalog) internationally for quite some time.
thank you for your mind and your works!
You're welcome!
3/ copyright:
- while now waiting for the solving of my "little" case, I'm consulting some Origami's forums (french!) and especially about copyrights!
- What I've read about Interpreting (folding someone else's CPs or diagrams) shocked me a little (it seems to be to restrictive!!), maybe because about your own telling in the introduction of "Origami Design Secret" saying pure reproduction of the original (diagram or CP) isn't so interesting, pushing us to modify or add some folds because possibilities of folding are endless, "quite" infinite!
- So I come to you with a first point: your ScorpionII model/diagram!...
- the second time I did it, I found some unused paper to make cheliceraes.. . I published photos of final models on the french Origami's forum I used in that time (since then, this Forum changed its name, historicals data and so on..), hesitating to write/comment explicitly this little "trick" and then choosing to Not mention it, I was curious about how much people would notice it and write or ask about it on the forum! (there was ZERO!).. . I also hesitated to communicate with you about this (I wrote emails but never dare to send them to you!).. .
Too bad. I would have congratulated you on your accomplishment. It's nice that you're writing now, though.
- Now, 5 years later, I'm still waiting to see folded "ScorpionII" with cheliceraes on the net! ... (When making my Crisis as told upper, I removed all of my Origami's publications on the web!.. so my own foldings pictures aren't on the net!)
- Also you were right when saying that most folders are TO MUCH Respecteous to Origami's Masters works so that they even don't think/mind to change anything!
- while not sharing this "trick" I asked myself if you did omit it especially!?.. "How can I figure that The Big Master Lang couldn't have seen this!?!!" was my mind..
I then extrapolated that you made it intentionally, letting and waiting until someone would make it! (this simple little "trick"!).. . . I now still don't know... so it's a question: what's all about at/in/for your mind?
I've folded it both ways (with and without chelicerae), but most of the time I don't think the benefit is worth the extra effort, so I usually don't include them, and that's the way I diagrammed it.
- So!.. now... moreover... What is the concern of a copyright?.. regarding your models for example: when maybe flap-folding instead of sinking, does it so change the original so that the copyright is no more valid/valuable? (someone could use this "lack" to copyright a huge amount of so called "new" diagrams or CPs or models!)...
No, making a small change does not invalidate copyright. What you are making is called (in legal terms) a "derivative work", and the original artist usually has rights in derivative works. Meaning, for example, that if you added chelicerae to my scorpion and then wanted to publish your own version, you would still have to ask my permission to do so.
However, there are also concepts in copyright law that limit an author's rights in original and derivative works. Those concepts include "fair use," "first sale," and "right to exhibit and display." That means, for example, that if you have a lawfully obtained copy of someone else's work, you do have a right to display it publicly. (But you don't have a right to make more copies.)
In Europe, there is also a concept called "right of attribution" (or something like that), which is somewhat stronger than the rights in the US.
The law on these matters is somewhat vague and varies from country to country, and a detailed discussion with all the legal qualifications would take a really long time. Plus, I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not the best person to carry out such a discussion. So instead of focusing on copyright law, I suggest focusing on origami etiquette. If you fold someone's work from instructions they have published, when you display it, give credit to the author and the source of publication. I have never met any author who objected to that practice, although that is assuming you're not doing anything commercially with it. (In general, if you're doing anything commercial, you need to ask permission.)
- so, what do you think about my little "add" to your original ScorpionII model? .. ;-]) ... (if I would driagram it) could I really name it "ScorpionII.b" or "ScorpionII+" or what?
I would have no objection to you diagramming the changes you make near the head to create chelicerae and calling it an alternate way of finishing the head. I would strongly object to you rediagramming the complete model (other than for your own use). Best would be for you to diagram just the bits that are different, and then cite the complete model, for example, by saying, "At step XX of Lang's Scorpion from Origami Design Secrets II, follow this sequence, then continue as originally diagrammed."
- at last, I don't realy care about copyrights
That is a telling admission. I have to ask, if you don't care about them, then why are you asking me about them?
because I'm just a little folder-interpreter and have no commercial or professional expectation with Origami, unless maybe creating my own model(s)! (besides, there is now a growing plenty lot of young origamists who are very talentfull as creators!).. so my questions are more at an intellectual curiosity level/concern.
RESUMING my questions:
- what about adding chelicereas to your ScorpionII?
- what about little changes in copyrighted original diagrams or CPs?
joining some illustrating pictures (a quite heavy industrial foil paper for isolating, 50x50cm, 2005),
best regards,
Lanois André.
ps: I will publish your answer on the forum, forwarding the link of the topic to you.
I would rather not have my answers removed from the context of your questions, so I would ask that you publish my answers only if you publish your complete letter to me, with answers interspersed, with no changes to either. (Although you don't need to include the photographs in your posting. You have folded the scorpion very nicely!)
Regards,
Robert
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ps2: untill now, I didn't care to diagram it nor to perfectly fold the unseeable pleats, although there is no ripping!
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... ( ça fait de la "pub" à toutes les parties, non?.... dans le pire des cas, elle n'a qu'à -ELNAKA- rectifier TOUS ses papiers et publications pour y ajouter La Référence Première! 
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