Not what it appears to be.

[mike04456]

Stumbled across this one completely by accident.

http://www.bluesapphires.net

 

[elmo]

Do you think this is like Thaigem, i.e. will what you receive look like what you ordered?

 

[valeria101]

If you knew how the thing I received from Thaigem looked like (as does their reputation for disclosing treatments, as far as I read), you would never surf those websites again...

 

[valeria101]

Hi Law Gem!

Maybe this should have been a separate post, but I doubt the subject would hoard a lot of audience. I was wandering how bad a deed is if one jeweler copies or retails the designs of another while claiming on public media (such as the Net) that the designs and pieces are his making? Romanian as I am, I know all too well how volatile intellectual property is (after all, less than 1% of all computer software sold in this country of mine are original items, and other types of goods face the same problem...). But, I was quite appaled to see a rather reputable jeweler doing the above. Besides, they were nice to me and I appreciated their service,until now, when I stumbled on the true producer of some of the items they claim to make!

PS: I believe it is not even worth mentioning 'borrowed' advertising and pictures and so forth, which help sell the 'borrower's' own production after all, but... I am really puzzled!

 

[mike04456]

Boy, talk about hijacking a thread.

It depends on a couple of things: how distinctive the designs are, and what steps the owner has taken to protect them.




Some jewelry designs can be protected by copyright, but they have to be pretty original and artistic. Most jewelry is not protectable by copyright because it's too generic. Romania is a signatory to the Berne Convention, so the rules are pretty standard wherever you are. If you're talking about sufficiently original and distinctive designs, then yes the other jeweler is in trouble.




Jewelry can also be protected by registration as an "industrial design" under EC rules. Romania isn't part of the EC yet (as you know) but it has enacted legislation to adopt EC rules on industrial designs. If the design has been successfully registered, the other jeweler is definitely guilty of design infringement and is likely in serious trouble.




Finally, there might be some trademark issues involved if promotional material has been misappropriated. Romania is also a signatory to the main international agreement on trademarks, the Madrid Protocol, so if any registered trademarks are being misused, that too is infringement.




Hope that helps.

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 10/2/2003 8:10:09 PM LawGem wrote:


Boy, talk about hijacking a thread. ----------------

No Hijack!

Just the thought of what all the owners of 'XXX Style' rings would have to say on this made me place the question in this way

It is always great to get some reasurance from an authoritative source... By the way, all the parties I was refering too are American firms and persons, and some have used their links to the same Ivy league I have went to too sell other reputed jeweler's (trademarked) designes. I have not been at all pleasantly impressed! Thanks again for the clarification.

Ana

 

[mike04456]

----------------
On 10/2/2003 8:47:29 PM valeria101 wrote:

By the way, all the parties I was refering too are American firms and persons

----------------

Okay, well all that would change is that in the U.S., "industrial designs" are protected as "design patents," but the system is pretty much the same. If the owner has filed for a design patent, it's protected for 14 years from the date of issue of the patent; if the owner hasn't bothered to file for a design patent, there is no protection except for any possible copyright on the jewelry. Note that you don't have to register your copyright anymore to have protection, though it helps in other ways.

 

[winyan]

I'm very confused...I clicked on the 'blue sapphires' link, and all I got was a page on "Beautiful Russian Brides".

I'm a lady!

win

 

[mike04456]

----------------
On 10/3/2003 11:10:30 AM winyan wrote:





I'm very confused...I clicked on the 'blue sapphires' link, and all I got was a page on 'Beautiful Russian Brides'.

----------------

Which is why this thread is entitled, "Not what it appears to be."

 

[sylvesterii]

what i would like to know is what does a mail-order bride have to do w/ blue sapphires?? is this a reference of which i am unfamiliar?

 

[Mikesgirl]

I'd like to know how much spam I'm going to get because I clicked on that link. S---. I am sooo sick of spam.

 

[innerkitten]

valeria, Are you saying you didn't get what you thought you were going to get at Thai Gem.
-Kitten