Would it be an infringement upon Copyright Laws to produce a ceramic casting mold of a ceramic piece that is no longer in production by a company? All masters of this mold have been destroyed as well. Thank You

If it is copyrighted, yes you can not make an exact copy of it.

I do not know how the law applies to a ceramic, but I do know that in the publishing world, the fact that the book is out of print and the author is dead does not mean that the copyright is void. It is still owned by the heirs. I'd assume that something similar applies in this case.

As noted, if a piece is protected by copyright then you can't make an exact copy or clone. You can try and get permission of the copyright holder or purchase the rights.

Hello butterfly:

ScottGem, as usual, is right on. In furtherance of his advice, you say that mold has been destroyed, but it appears that the company who produced the ceramic is still in business, and you know who they are.

Since they're not producing the product, why don't you offer to buy the rights to it, or offer to pay for a license. That way, if your line is successful, they won't take all your profits away from you in a copyright infringement lawsuit.

Seems to me that would be the path of least resistance.

If they DON'T want to do business with you, and you think you can make a lot of money with it, change it to a degree and put it on the market. I'd reserve some profits to defend the anticipated lawsuit.

If you just want to make it for yourself, nobody is going to stop you.

excon

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Originally Posted by butterflydream

Would it be an infringement upon Copyright Laws to produce a ceramic casting mold of a ceramic piece that is no longer in production by a company? All masters of this mold have been destroyed as well. Thank You

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There is a case involving Ebay (I can't find it right now) fairly recently where someone made a replica of a discontinued Mary moo-moo figurine and sold it and was charged with violation of the copyright laws and fraud, even though the listing said something about a replica.

The person selling the piece claimed she bought it and she's not the one violating the copyright.

I'll have to see if I can find the case.