: This is a little off topic but anyone out there know about the Vessel Hull
: Design Copyright law. Since joining a kayak firm I have been shocked to
: find out how prevalent “splashing” molds off of existing boats is. In
: eastern Europe here are more illegal copies of our Hawk and Eagle model
: than real boats. Also there are numerous boats that are clearly copies
: with minor changes being sold as original designs.

: My understanding of the law is that by registering an existing design you
: have immediate copyright protection (unlike patenting which can take years
: to take effect). My question is can US copyright laws be enforced in
: foreign countries. My assumption is that some trade agreements call for
: reciprocity of copyrights but can anyone shed some light on how this works
: in practice. I also know that countries like China have whole factories
: devoted to illegal copying of Microsoft software.

: Do we have any IP lawyers out there willing to help out a fellow builder.

: Regards,

: Jack

You might want to check the Nolo website for do it yourself books on the subject.
I used their "Patent it Yourself" book, even though I used a patent attorney, the book gave me a better understanding of the process and answered questions that would have been too expensive to ask.

Reg