Copy Right Infringement ???

[BHD]

If you making it for your own use, and not for profit, you have little to worry about,

If you copied some one machine to manufacture some unique piece and it needed that machine to make the part and your selling the part, you many be looking at a law suit, by the holder of the patent owner,

but if you use some Idea that you see, even copy the machine part for part, (example I know a guy who keep showing up at the dealer of a piece of equipment and took pictures and measurements and built a copy of the machine for a period of a few weeks), but since it was for his own use and not for profit, a very hard thing to "enforce".

most of the problems is when money starts to exchange hands, and there is money being made off the system or product.

and just because some thing is patented (look up the patent), as many times it has very little to do with the actual machine, (one time I made a grass seed harvester) and copied some ideas off the net, one company keep showing there patent number, on there pages, so I looked it up, it was on the machine lift and the way the carriage worked not the harvesting part, (that was the section of the machine I had the least interest in), the harvesting head of it was by another company and had expired,

for example you can make or copy many patented items, If the patent is expired, the 702 Aermotor windmill head is the most copied windmill head out there made by manufactures all over the world, but the patents are expired, no longer any protection,

look how many clones came up by other tool companies when the patent expired on the FEIN MultiMaster , ever tool company and there dog come up with a copy, of it,

 

[BHD]

my guess is you could go out and build a 1970's John Deere 4020 tractor the entire machine, part for part, (if it meet epa regulations) and sell it, with out any patent problems,

(now if you painted it JD green, then you would have John Deere distroying you in court, as you did a trade mark infringment, and possibly one may have to change the sheet metal as well as they could say that was a trade mark), trade marks many times are fought over more than patents, and trade marks can be keep for life,

How long does trademark protection last?
How long does trademark protection last?
Unlike copyrights and patents, trademark rights can last indefinitely as long as the owner continues to use the mark to identify its goods or services. The term of a federal trademark is 10 years, with 10-year renewal terms. However, the USPTO requires that between the fifth and sixth year after the date of registration, the registrant must file an affidavit stating that the mark is still in use. If no affidavit is filed, the registration is cancelled. The USPTO does not remind the trademark owner of this deadline.

if you painted it some other color most likely there would be little they could do to stop you from making and selling that unit, as the patents have expired,
(now John Deere being the size they are and may bring frivilous law suits against some one to wear one down even tho may many not hold water in court),