"Blue Magic's on Ebay" .... ????

MartyMart · April 22, 2005, 03:59:29 AM

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7316790707&ssPageName=ADME:B:RECO:UK:2

Anyone know if this is what it looks like, or just the same "name" !!!
He call's it a "fuzz" so ..........?

BTW those boxes are nasty, you can only get inside from the thin ends :roll:

Marty.

Bagge · April 22, 2005, 04:21:42 AM

No doubt. It is the Blue Magic from GGG. The sound samples on his site are even the same as on GGG.

There is also BSIAB2. here's the link:
http://travestydog.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/

idiot savant · April 22, 2005, 06:24:26 AM

i e-mailed jd last week about those, apparently the guy is selling kits of em too

Ge_Whiz · April 22, 2005, 06:58:35 AM

Not a very informative web site (it ain't me, by the way).

Ed G. · April 22, 2005, 08:08:10 AM

Looks like he's using my name, and JD's description of the pedal. I'm sure he's using JD's layout if he's too lazy to even come up with his own description.
I don't know what rights we have in this, especially it being overseas. I'm sure there are others out there making money off of this. Oh well...I made the decision to share this with others. Unfortunately, when I get done with version 3, I doubt it will be released to the public. I enjoyed getting the feedback and seeing people enjoy building the bsiab.

hilbi · April 22, 2005, 08:40:57 AM

It must be frustrating to see these things happening.

Isn't there nothing to do about it?

Karmasound · April 22, 2005, 08:44:58 AM

Has anyone asked the seller yet?

wampcat1 · April 22, 2005, 08:54:41 AM

I *think* that if you buy JD's circuit boards, he gives you the right to sell them, at least he *used* to do that at one time. This may be just that.

cd · April 22, 2005, 08:56:57 AM

Quote from: Ed G.Looks like he's using my name, and JD's description of the pedal. I'm sure he's using JD's layout if he's too lazy to even come up with his own description.
I don't know what rights we have in this, especially it being overseas. I'm sure there are other dicks out there making money off of this. Oh well...I made the decision to share this with others, and this is what happens.
Unfortunately, when I get done with version 3, I doubt it will be released to the public. I enjoyed getting the feedback and seeing people enjoy building the bsiab.

We all know the technical legal ramifications of using a copyrighted layout and/or description (if you're new here, just search for "copyright" and you'll be busy for a day or two) so no need to re-hash it here. The actual circuit though? That's the risk you take in posting something publicly. Sorry if I sound like a cyncial a**hole, but if you post something that's even halfway original (or even if it's not) it's going to be ripped off. If you can deal with that, great - for instance, I have no clue how JD or RG keep their sties up and running. The bandwidth costs alone must be huge. I can only guess that the warm fuzzy feeling from positive emails outweighs the sick feeling from incidents like this one.

Ed G. · April 22, 2005, 09:38:32 AM

I'm just surprised how blatant it is...It uses the bsiab name, it mentions my name and it also uses JD's description of the circuit.
I know anyone can use the circuit, but I'm pretty sure he's using JD's layout, which would be a copyright violation.
If someone would be buying numerous boards from JD to sell, JD would have let me know. This isn't the case, I am sure of that.
I realize there isn't much that can be done here, but it's a bit disappointing.

MartyMart · April 22, 2005, 09:45:38 AM

Ed, perhaps a "legal" type email, cleverly worded may be enough to stop
this ?
There's not much else we can do, if he's done his own layout and the "BSIAB II" name has no copyright ....
Its a bummer, you know how I feel about this stuff, but unfortunately not
everyone is so "fair" about things, and this is small, how about what goes
on in a "BIG" corporate buisness... !!! :shock:

I shudder to think .....

BTW: I looked into a "copyright" purchase last year for a design which is
unrelated to stompboxes, it would have cost me almost 50,000 bucks to
protect it worldwide ....... !!!!!!
I dropped the idea quite quickly ...

Regards,
Marty.

Ed G. · April 22, 2005, 10:53:27 AM

Marty,
I doubt he's done his own layout...I'd be surprised if he has. People like that rather use others' work.
I'm sure he's a lurker on here. I'd like to find out who he is.
Thing is, he's only one person. I'm sure there's more like him, just we don't know about it yet.
It's not a big deal in the whole scheme of things, but it kind of puts a damper on the whole spirit of 'sharing' ideas.
It'd be more of a pain in the ass to try to pursue legal avenues since he's overseas.

Doug_H · April 22, 2005, 11:02:23 AM

Ed, I took my meteor schem down last fall because a little bird warned me about someone producing it. Yeah, it's too late to put the proverbial cat back in the bag, etc. I guess it makes me feel more warm & fuzzy, which is good enough reason for me to take it down.

Overall I'm not that worried about stuff I've put in the public domain though. I don't post things I don't want to share. I don't have an issue with people wanting to make money. But what miffs me about this kind of stuff is when they don't ask you for permission or acknowledge you in any way. They basically carbon-copy your effort and BTW take all the credit too.

In the end it kind of taints the whole thing. Makes me think sometimes this sort of business is a pretty seedy enterprise. It also makes people feel like not contributing much. Too bad for the diy community.

Doug

Karmasound · April 22, 2005, 11:15:19 AM

I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find out who they are?

I might

might just ask a few questions.

How about asking to see pics of the board and parts?

mojotron · April 22, 2005, 11:17:33 AM

Quote from: wampcat1I *think* that if you buy JD's circuit boards, he gives you the right to sell them, at least he *used* to do that at one time. This may be just that.

That's what's on the GGG site, or I think he asks 10% for using the layout and you fab the boards as well... I talked to JD about fabing some of my custom boards as well, and his quote was very resonable..

However, on top of this "royalty" stuff - we should all be sending in regular donations to GGG and other sites to help these guys cover their costs and some of their time...

Paul Marossy · April 22, 2005, 11:27:37 AM

I still maintain that if you don't want your stuff stolen, don't ever put it on a website, ever!! Unfortunately, that's kinda anti-DIY, so I guess it's a catch-22... :?

Mark Hammer · April 22, 2005, 11:33:46 AM

If I'm not mistaken, isn't the Blue Magic Jake Nagy's design?

petemoore · April 22, 2005, 11:35:53 AM

Yupp, that's who they 'belong' to... :oops:
I feel a bit ill...

Paul Marossy · April 22, 2005, 11:42:44 AM

Yes, that was Jake Nagy's design.

mojotron · April 22, 2005, 11:43:40 AM

I have thought about this a lot in the last few months, I think we should organize some effort to promote Ed, Doug, Jack's.... designs in a manner where the final product is "Officially Licensed" - meaning that a portion of the profits for the sale (as well as full recognition) would go to the appropriate place - the designer.

Make no mistake, any yahoo can put together a pedal from a layout... and I have seen some goofy, or just plain awful, builds sold on ebay, but all the other things beside the design/layout - the mechanicals and build quality of a pedal... which IMHO are just as important - make it a product that is worth selling... and I think some people have justified their "leveraging" of a design by thinking that if they carry the burden of producing a product they should make all of the profit... But, I think that a line of pedals that was fully endorsed by the original designer would be easier to promote in the light of day... thus making enough extra to support a "licensing fee" and recognition of the designer...

News:

"Blue Magic's on Ebay" .... ????

Doug_H