[palmimports]

I am seeking member comments on the following :

Creating a specific forum for members seeking to have CT sponsers print custom chips- whether inlay or ceramic- to include plaques, dealer buttons and anything else CUSTOM

1- members would be required to post artwork considered for printing by CT sponsers to a specific forum for review by CT members in order to avoid possible copyright infringement

2- Sponsers would be required to check this forum prior to printing the order

Its not a cure all- but it would institute a member driven system of integrity whcih has been a topic of numerous discussions throughout the years

Members AND sponsers would be bound by this self regulated system of government.

Comments?

[BigBrando]

Isn't that the point of the Custom Chip Section - to post mock-ups for review and discussion?

I hate to say it, but I feel like ChipTalk.net's sponsors bear the responsibility of making sure artwork is "kosher" because they ultimately decide what gets produced. That goes for custom-printed ceramics, labels, plaques, etc.

Perhaps a better solution would be to ask Blue Chip, ASM, ABC Gifts, Nevada Jacks, HogWild, and Palm Imports what standards they use to determine artwork suitability? That would effectively yield an "industry best practice" solution. Custom chip artwork ground rules, if you will.

In short, I don't think we need to deputize ChipTalk.net members with this responsibility, as most stand nothing to gain with this arrangement and have a good portion of the liability placed on them when more vocal members raise issue with things. As a sponsor, I suppose one needs to equally expect and be prepared for both praise and criticism.

I like the idea of a member-driven set of standards and integrity, but I don't think that it should be inextricably tied into the profit-making side of the site.

[JCTC]

I don't know how bad the problem is. Are you suggesting that this would be something that only the chip manufacturers would see so they can self police this? Or is this something that anyone could see? Although most people love to post their new customs, forcing people to post their custom chips for all to see doesn't feel right to me.

[palmimports]

Originally Posted by BigBrando

Isn't that the point of the Custom Chip Section - to post mock-ups for review and discussion?

I hate to say it, but I feel like ChipTalk.net's sponsors bear the responsibility of making sure artwork is "kosher" because they ultimately decide what gets produced. That goes for custom-printed ceramics, labels, plaques, etc.

Perhaps a better solution would be to ask Blue Chip, ASM, ABC Gifts, Nevada Jacks, HogWild, and Palm Imports what standards they use to determine artwork suitability? That would effectively yield an "industry best practice" solution. Custom chip artwork ground rules, if you will.

In short, I don't think we need to deputize ChipTalk.net members with this responsibility, as they stand nothing to gain with this arrangement and have a good portion of the liability placed on them when more vocal members raise issue with things.

Good points- I think weve all done a good job thus far but its nearly impossible to be 100 per cent when something is printed- for a one man shop perhaps- but when theres 3-4 people printing 5 people making chips its not easy.

When you think about it- its only an issue here on CT and only when pics are posted- no vendor outside of CT has to worry about the potential infringements- it falls in the customers area of responsibility unless its something REAL blatant.

My thinking was- members are usually the first to pick up when something may be wrong- but your point is well taken- might not be fair to say- hey its the members responsibility-- but theyre the first to yell and scream so it sort of does fall in their lap- but usually AFTER theres a problem.

[ACE'S FULL]

Originally Posted by BigBrando

Isn't that the point of the Custom Chip Section - to post mock-ups for review and discussion?

I hate to say it, but I feel like ChipTalk.net's sponsors bear the responsibility of making sure artwork is "kosher" because they ultimately decide what gets produced. That goes for custom-printed ceramics, labels, plaques, etc.

Perhaps a better solution would be to ask Blue Chip, ASM, ABC Gifts, Nevada Jacks, HogWild, and Palm Imports what standards they use to determine artwork suitability? That would effectively yield an "industry best practice" solution. Custom chip artwork ground rules, if you will.

In short, I don't think we need to deputize ChipTalk.net members with this responsibility, as most stand nothing to gain with this arrangement and have a good portion of the liability placed on them when more vocal members raise issue with things. As a sponsor, I suppose one needs to equally expect and be prepared for both praise and criticism.

I like the idea of a member-driven set of standards and integrity, but I don't think that it should be inextricably tied into the profit-making side of the site.

Seconded..

[Felix]

Sounds good to me...especially from a voyeuristic point of view.
Think about all those mockups
From a more serious point of view, this also makes sense. Here are a lot of people who know a lof of/about chips. So there will be someone around who would recognize stolen artwork.
Also this might pull even more people to CT, but perhaps all the people considering custom chips are already here or will find us, wheter they want to or not.

[jojobinks]

i think joe's OP has some good points. he's not saying it should be CT membership's responsibility. he's saying that if mocks always (ok, more often) went up beforehand for comment then it'd be less likely for mistakes to be made.

we all know that copyright law is slippery. we all know that none of us is a copyright specialist. we're talking about obvious/blatant stuff here.

one nitty point:
saying sponsors are required to do so and so is unlikely to happen. the most likely result would be a america/china-kyoto treaty sort of argument: "sponsor X isn't gonna do it, so i don't understand why i'd have to do it."

i guess whatever good points are in this idea would do well to be worked into the mockup forum as it exists now.

[kmalsom]

I'm not in favor of the idea. Feels a little too big brother for me. I can also see times when someone wouldn't want their mockups made public for reasons other than copying artwork.

[ACE'S FULL]

Originally Posted by palmimports

Good points- I think weve all done a good job thus far but its nearly impossible to be 100 per cent when something is printed- for a one man shop perhaps- but when theres 3-4 people printing 5 people making chips its not easy.

When you think about it- its only an issue here on ChipTalk.net and only when pics are posted- no vendor outside of ChipTalk.net has to worry about the potential infringements- it falls in the customers area of responsibility unless its something REAL blatant.

My thinking was- members are usually the first to pick up when something may be wrong- but your point is well taken- might not be fair to say- hey its the members responsibility-- but theyre the first to yell and scream so it sort of does fall in their lap- but usually AFTER theres a problem.

With the business you are in that you choose to do it should be up to you to ensure that the people you have working for you know what is and isnt acceptable. Its like any other business it should be expected of any employee to know the what the other competitors (sp?) are douing and the products they produce. Also know when to spot a outright fake or a rip-off. IMO

[palmimports]

Originally Posted by kmalsom

I'm not in favor of the idea. Feels a little too big brother for me. I can also see times when someone wouldn't want their mockups made public for reasons other than copying artwork.

yea I thought about that- maybe a voluntary approach is better- I look at it this way-- you design something and want me to print it- it looks ok to me- you post it for review- someone whose really chip saavy says- hey thats a copy of a 1985 chip used by so and so- or-- HEY- Johnny5 did that design back in '01 for tinkerbell here on CT--and I can rethink the order- rather then someone sending me the order- I print it- the member posts pics proud as a peacock and 2 members yell about knocking off a design or chip that SOME people knew about but clearly I didnt ( or another sponser perhaps)

The jist I felt was: members are looking out for each other- which is great-
the artist(s) benefit- but the vendor may be left short if the vendor isnt as saavy as someone else- so the vendor gets in a jam---