DB118 & Blauer Enzian

[_TLG_]

Nice and accurate model!

[dimitri_bricks]

Great job for your MOC ! Congrats ! 

[Ts__]

Hello Emanuelle,

quick question: are the instructions for the "Blue Enzian" at Bricks-On-Rails yours?

If so, which is what I think by the name and appearance, I think that's grossly unfair. A copy/imitation of someone else's model is not a problem in itself, nor is a public presentation with mention of the origin. But selling a manual of such a similar model is not acceptable!

Thomas

Edit: After consulting with Bricks-On-Rails, the manual is blocked for the time being and they are looking into the matter.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Ts__

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Hello @Ts__ Thomas,

I'm sorry this situation has arisen, and I understand your point of view; but let me give my justifications, then we will resolve the matter!

When I presented this convoy I gave credit to your work (for the wagons) and to Bricks-On-Rails (for the locomotive).

1. In general for ALL my replicas I have ALWAYS specified the source, without ever misappropriating the originality of the idea;

2. My replicas have been made without NEVER asking for instructions from the original creator;

3. It's my firm point to NEVER ask for help on how to solve the construction, or how to make complicated or tricky parts;

4. In my replicas I have NEVER seen the original real-life Lego model (with two exceptions on trains of Italian friends);

5. In my replicas I ALWAYS and ONLY look at the photos made available to everyone by the author on internet;
6. My ALL replicas are similar but they are not identical to the originals (for the obvious reasons listed above).

With these premises, I had contact with Bricks-On-Rails specifying that my model was made following these criteria and the decision was made to publish the instructions

...BUT...

since I prefer to have people's friendship and respect rather than money I have no problem stopping sales right now, let me know if this is satisfactory for you!

All the best

Emanuele

 

[Ts__]

Hello Emanuele,

Thank you for your feedback and understanding.

I'm not bothered by the replica of you, that's totally ok and you only had the photos / videos and nothing else from me.

You also mentioned the sources in the introduction here, perfect. That is all ok and no problem.
You can always rebuild models for yourself and also show them.

But what is not possible in my eyes is to create a manual from it and sell it. That was the point that bothered me. There was no question about it, there was no reference to the author when selling.
In this case, the design / bulding technology on the outside of the coaches was 90-95% identical. There will certainly be many differences on the inside, but they are not relevant.
If the differences were much greater, I wouldn't mind either. But here one could speak of a copy.

I appreciate you as a very good moccer and definitely don't want a small war with anyone. Therefore: peace ;-)

If you want, we can delete the last three posts here.

All the best

Thomas

[Black Knight]

9 hours ago, Ts__ said:

But what is not possible in my eyes is to create a manual from it and sell it. That was the point that bothered me. There was no question about it, there was no reference to the author when selling.

In this case, the design / bulding technology on the outside of the coaches was 90-95% identical. There will certainly be many differences on the inside, but they are not relevant.
If the differences were much greater, I wouldn't mind either. But here one could speak of a copy.

Well, no. You would most probably lose in every court on this planet if you tried to force Emanuele and Martin to stop selling the instructions. Therefore I find it a loss for the community that those instructions now are gone.

As you said, Emanuele did not make a clone-replica of your set and even if he did: You did not bother about making any juridical claims on your design upfront. I wouldn't have either: It is very expensive and you would never get that money back, even if you had gone all the way and crafted instructions yourself and sold them. Making those instructions is a tedious and laborious task. And the original design is not yours, you made a model of a historic train. This is also perfectly legal but makes your model a copy itself nevertheless.

Creating a MOC is mostly a recreational activity because the demand for them is tiny while the amount of time perfecting them is huge. The thing you can expect from creating a MOC is your own sense of accomplishment and the admiration of us fellow brick-heads. And maybe that could have been a better solution: To include you as the author of the "original" model in the instructions, so you would get your fame and Emanuele and Martin would still get a tiny compensation for their boring work on the instructions (Rest assured that they will never get above minimum wage for their hours spent with the money they earn).

I feel sorry for Emanuele and Martin because they wasted their time on making the instructions. I feel sorry for the people who would have loved to have your Enzian on their shelf. But I also feel sorry for yourself Thomas, as you denied your own work to be shown around the world, running on the tracks of fellow hobbyists, getting seen by people who would never had looked at your pictures of it. This is a very sad solution.

[Selander]

Oscar Wilde: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness"

[Dr Snotson]

Maybe I can burn myself joining this pledge!

What we can learn from this topic so far:

Emanuele build and showcased a beautiful train composed of slightly modificated "Blauer Enzian"-rollingstock created by Thomas and a slightly modificated E18 created by me. To be honest my second version of my E18 was inspired by Thomas E18 at some point (sidewalls). Maybe I will design a "Blauer Enzian" some day too. Now that`s kind of a true circle of inspiration. That`s what our passion is all about... Love it!

Designing and selling instructions for a MOC of someone else without his permission is a no-go. If one of my MOCs comes to close to someone else`s solutions of critical characteristics or is composed of more solutions of other different designers than my own, maybe I still would start a topic or thread and publish some photos but I would not waste a single thought about selling it.

On the other hand, designing and promoting these instructions is really hard work. Over the last years Martin gained a lot of expirience and stepped up his game creating an outstanding portfolio (instructions and 3d-printed-parts) on the european market with all its special implications and deserves the respect of our community.

The more happy I am - Thomas, correct me if I am wrong or have misunderstood your last post - that you guys did come to an agreement!