Subject:
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Re: Is the LDraw parts database free?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.cad.dev
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Date:
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Wed, 17 Nov 1999 00:27:26 GMT
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Viewed:
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756 times
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"Fredrik Glöckner" wrote:
>
> > and you don't need to run the .EXE files, they are ARJ self
> > extracting archives so running "arj x file.exe" will extract the
> > files as well
>
> Ok, I've never heard this before, and it's not in the FAQ. But now that
> I know, this is valuable information.
I thought everybody knew that. :)
> > I guess that I've said this 100 times but I'll repeat it once again:
>
> I've never heard it before and it's not in the FAQ.
This is not the kind of thing that would be in the FAQ. I just said
that because I was probably the only person who ever asked permission to
use the LDraw library in another program. Maybe Tore had the same idea
with Simlego ?
> I wouldn't want to argue with that. And I think that the format of the
> parts database is probably still the intellectual property of James
> Jessiman's immediate family. But what about parts contributed by
> others?
I don't know the number of files that James created, in the beginning
people didn't add a header with the author's name like we do now but I
guess the number is something around 600-700. In the worst case, if his
family decide that we can't use the parts anymore, we can convert the
ones we have done to a new format.
If we were not here LDraw would have disappeared a long time ago and
if they decide to do that we'll just switch to another format (most of
us are Lego-CAD addicts and won't be able to survive otherwise :) ). I
heard that Unisys now wants to charge when you use a GIF file in a
homepage, if they are really going to do that people will just use PNG
instead.
> > Of course, we are on a totally different situation now
>
> You mean since the parts database has been moved to
> <URL:http://www.ldraw.org/> or something else?
I mean that James is not around anymore.
> > but you don't have to worry about Unix users.
>
> The UNIX users weren't my worry, I just used it as an example.
To put it better: "you don't need to worry about uncompressing the
.exe files" :)
> What worries me is the legal situation of the LDraw parts library. This
> is a very valuable database containing hundreds of hours worth of work
> contributed not only by James Jessiman, but also by numerous other
> people.
I'm not a lawyer but I believe that when we create a part, we don't
loose the rights of that part just because it was saved using the LDraw
format. You could compare that to something like "when I save a document
using MS Word, I still have the rights to the doc (and not MS)". My
father is a lawyer, maybe I could ask him a few questions.
> What if someone makes a public domain or GPL or open source CAD program
> and distributes it with the LDraw parts, possibly changed in some way?
Isn't that the case of LDLite ? Besides, I've been doing that with
LeoCAD for a long time (but I have permission).
> Can someone use L3P or something similar to make a POV-Ray library of
> the LEGO parts from the LDraw library and ship this with POV-Ray? Or
> can a major, commercial 3D CAD system sell a similar library to it's
> costumers?
If that happens and we can prove that we did the parts then we (the
part authors and James family) can go to court and ask for royalties
because they stole the work done by someone else.
> What if somebody makes an artwork using renderings of parts from the
> LDraw database and publishes this. Is it acceptable?
>
> Can I use rendered parts from the LDraw database in illustrations and
> sell them? Use them on my homepage?
James was never against allowing us to use drawings in homepages. In
my opinion, we're not doing any profit here so we don't need to worry
about this, James was a very nice person and I believe that reflects the
way his parents are. As always, YMMV.
Leonardo
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Is the LDraw parts database free?
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| Leonardo Zide <leonardo@centroin.com.br> wrote in message news:3831F66E.B12CD0....com.br... (...) A number of people _are_ using parts from the LDraw database to help make a profit. Parts auctions, and even a supplier of "homebrew" sensors are (...) (25 years ago, 17-Nov-99, to lugnet.cad.dev)
| | | Re: Is the LDraw parts database free?
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| (...) If you've had to say it a hundred times already, I think it _should_ be in the FAQ. That's what FAQs are for, isn't it? Frequently answered questions. (...) Nah, I wouldn't say so. The parts database isn't distributed with LDLITE. Sure, LDLITE (...) (25 years ago, 18-Nov-99, to lugnet.cad.dev)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Is the LDraw parts database free?
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| (...) Yes, but most people would probably prefer not to install DOSEMU or a similar program unless they have to. (...) Ok, I've never heard this before, and it's not in the FAQ. But now that I know, this is valuable information. (...) Yes, unarj (...) (25 years ago, 16-Nov-99, to lugnet.cad.dev)
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