"Tribute knife?"

[Triton]

Okay, so prompted by a couple of things I've seen over the last couple of years in Blade magazine I have a couple of questions.

One of the items was an ad for someone who is making "Jimmy Lile Tribute" knives i.e. the knife that Lile did for the first Rambo movie. The other item was a featured maker who was making "Loveless (or maybe it was Randall I don't remember exactly) Tribute knives" which he made "a little different" then the original.

So the questions. What is a "tribute knife" and how does that differ from a "knock off?" Does it have to do with licensing from the estate or getting permission from the maker in question? What do you think of "tribute knives?" A real tribute to the original? Or just a way for someone to make a buck on someone else's reputation? What say you?

 

[redsquid2]

Strange that this thread did not get any replies. I really admire the blade profiles coming out of Scandinavia. I also admire the ones from Two Finger Knife in Idaho. I was wondering, if I make a copy of one of these blades, then design my own handle for it, how closely do I have to mimic it before it is i.p. violation?

I have studied watchmaking quite a bit, and you would not believe the degree of immitation that goes on between different watchmakers, even major watchmakers. Visiting my favorite watch collecting forums, I often ask myself what is the difference between a "tribute" and a "cheap knockoff." Tributes are very popular, and watchmakers themselves often buy, sell, trade, and wear them. This has been going on since at least since the late '50's. I think it started with a SCUBA watch worn in a TV series.

Jason Statham wore something like a Panerai Luminor in those transporter movies. That's about a $6,000 watch, IIR. You can get a reliable, accurate China-made "tribute" for about $90.

But I digress. If I want to mimic someone else's blade profile, then if I build a knife around it, and if I further decide to sell that knife, have I violated his/her intellectual property right?

I'll just hazard a guess and say, it depends on whether the profile I am mimicking has anything truly novel about it, or not.

I don't know what else to say about this, except I do respect the creativity and intellectual property rights of all artists, craftsmen, and designers, but I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know where all the legal boundaries are drawn.

 

[Skimo]

This thread is too good for general, I don't buy anything that's an homage or tribute, probably because I haven't seen any the pique my interest. It is an excellent question however and I sure wish I had an answer for you.

I would be leery of homage or tribute items that aren't from reputable dealers because I would be thinking "this nut is trying to ride the wave" There are some things I'll never own, and I'm okay with it, buying a knockoff that only true collectors/experts/fanatics/knuts can discern from being the genuine article is nothing more than buying a lie or "fake it till you make it" bullspit there are my two cents. Thanks for a fun one Triton.

 

[CWL]

A "tribute" is when you really are trying to honor or carry-on in someone's footsteps, tradition or ideals. The goal is not to replace or try to fool others into thinking it is something it is not. Yes, the cost of these can be much more than what the original cost but are not meant to replace them.

Counterfeits, knock-offs, forgeries, rip-offs are just trying to fool people for purely monetary gain. These try to be something they are not and are usually purchased and used in a manner to mislead others (or oneself) as if it is "as good as" an original. Lately, sleazy people have started using the words "homage" and "tribute" to try and hide from the fact that they are selling fakes for the sake of making money. This is as low and classless as it has always been, same set of ethics as selling counterfeit medicine and baby formula.

 

[MassMatt]

A "tribute" is when you really are trying to honor or carry-on in someone's footsteps, tradition or ideals. The goal is not to replace or try to fool others into thinking it is something it is not. Yes, the cost of these can be much more than what the original cost but are not meant to replace them.

Counterfeits, knock-offs, forgeries, rip-offs are just trying to fool people for purely monetary gain. These try to be something they are not and are usually purchased and used in a manner to mislead others (or oneself) as if it is "as good as" an original. Lately, sleazy people have started using the words "homage" and "tribute" to try and hide from the fact that they are selling fakes for the sake of making money. This is as low and classless as it has always been, same set of ethics as selling counterfeit medicine and baby formula.

A good summary/definition. I guess it's a case of reading closely to see if the "tribute" has the blessing of the originator. If not assume some sleaze.