On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 00:45:09 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

Next question: If I took the "look and feel" of one boat off a site,
and reproduced it in hulls, without study plans, only dimentions, and
eye-ball shape from a site, is that wrong?

My 2 cents worth is no. All designs are based at least in part on
what has gone before. What you'd be missing of course is the
engineering and/or naval architecture that might have gone into the
original (admittedly not much in a canoe but probably quite a bit in a
well designed larger boat).

FWIW, the following is an extract from a summary of the much maligned
Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). Other summaries vary
somewhat. As explained to me, it's the shape of the hull that's
protected, not engineering details. The theory seems to be that the
shape of a hull is so important to the function and appearance of the
vessel that it should be protected over and above the protection
accorded to the plans. IANAL, so further deponent sayeth not. But I
am sure the devil is in the details of the legislation.

"Title V of the DMCA, entitled the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act
(VHDPA), adds a new chapter 13 to Title 17 of the U.S. Code. It
creates a new system for protecting original designs of certain useful
articles that make the article attractive or distinctive in
appearance. For purposes of the VHDPA, “useful articles” are limited
to the hulls (including the decks) of vessels no longer than 200 feet.
A design is protected under the VHDPA as soon as a useful article
embodying the design is made public or a registration for the design
is published. "


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