When is a Knock-off not a Knock-off?

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When is a Knock-off not a Knock-off?

Published Saturday, April 22, 2006 by CCAer | E-mail this post

From today’s Calgary Sun, this story:

Making a cheap knock-off of a Calgary map book has cost a city businessman $8,000.
That’s the fine provincial court Judge Bruce Fraser handed Commodore Allen after ruling he infringed the copyright of map maker David Sherlock.
Fraser, in a written ruling, rejected Allen’s claim his map wasn’t simply a cheaper version of Sherlock’s original work.
Fraser acknowledged Allen made changes in Sherlock's map book, but said they weren't sufficient to make it more than a ripoff.
“Many of the more significant changes were purely cosmetic,” said Fraser.
Sherlock complained to police after Allen published AMI Calgary Street Atlas in 2002, and sold 10,000 copies to Certigard of Calgary.

My question is: if there were a sufficient number of changes, would Allen’s map book be considered a new and legitimate product? If so, what would be a sufficient number of changes?

3 Responses to “When is a Knock-off not a Knock-off?”

GeoMullah on 9:18 AM

Isn't the first rule of cartography, "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'?"

How else do cartographers make maps?
Vector One on 10:32 AM

This is interesting. The question you ask is what I wonder too. Maybe 50.1% must be changed? Or is it a matter of originality in the changes?

On another note, I bet the average number of books sold by authors in Canada is under 2000 copies (I never researched this though - just impression). At 10,000 copies, this clearly shows the power of maps.
dcizbymq vmwhrcbp on 4:56 AM

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