Part 4. What could go wrong?
4.1 MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING
When I started designing in the mid 1980's Composites Engineers were as easy to find as steam train engineers are today. It really was a pioneering field, not just in the boating industry but but in composites manufacture in general.
As composites have become more broadly adopted in the motor vehicle industry, aerospace and even bridge construction the understanding of the loads on these structures, and how the loads get distributed in composite structures has matured considerably.
Materials such as foam cores, reinforcements and resin systems are able to be specified to exacting tolerances and should never be substituted without consulting with the engineers. Not only is compliance with the material specification important, but application of the materials is critical including resin/fibre ratios, and particularly secondary bonding which is a topic in itself.
Do we understand?
It was 8am when the project manager slid open the doors at one of the various factory sheds of the high profile manufacturing company and ushered me in. He strolled over to a large laminating table where the composite panels for our project had been laid up the previous day.
He put his fingers on one of the panels and quickly drew them back again- looking for a rag to wipe the stickiness from his hand.
"Guess they didn't know you have to put catalyst in the resin" he said.
It's no use the project manager having knowledge of technical issues like resin to fibre ratios, mixing ratios and secondary bonding if the knowledge isn't passed on to the workers on the shop floor, and their supervisor in particular. Unfortunately this was not an isolated issue at this particular yard and I expect a lack of worker training, communication and supervision were the critical issues at play.
4.2 DESIGN, COPYRIGHT AND THE LAW
What happens when you create something original, someone else takes your creation and claims it as their own to make use of your work for their own profit.
What rights do you have to protect your interest?
The marine industry is plagued with examples of designers and manufacturers having their work copied, often with some minor changes being made, and the copying party benefitting from the "new" design without acknowledging the rights of the original creator.
Challenging this kind of activity can be expensive and time consuming. For a boat builder or a designer it's a distraction from your work. It creates a drama in your working life that you don't really need, and so all too often this kind of activity gets a free ride.
But occasionally the designer or manufacturer just gets fed up with how often this happens and how blatant is the abuse of their rights.
Many designers are passionate about the look of their designs, and that's a good thing. Shapes have personality and when well designed are expressive of the designers' vision.
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work,
You don’t have to file anything to have copyright protection, as long as you can prove that you created the work in question
Copyright can cover artwork , music, text, and in the marine sector it can relate to projects or designs by architects or designers as long as the work is original.
Keep in mind that the look of a boat is usually a vey important aspect of the designer's work and the ownership of the look is the property of the designer, protected by copyright.
If the boat is built in a country other than the resident country of the designer the copyright laws of the designer's country are still applicable as long as the country where the boat is built is party to the Berne convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886).
If you want to change the outline shape of a window, the rake of the stem or the transom, or stretch the cabin you should check with the designer before you take such action. You could be subject to an infringement of copyright law. Same applies if you copy someone else's styling work and pass it off as your own.
Today more than 180 countries are signatories to the Berne Convention including Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, and Andorra.
If you don't like the the styling of the designer in question, or think you can improve on it without consulting the designer, don't build their design. Find a designer whose work you like and respect and be open about any plans you have to change it.
4.3 FOUR WAYS DESIGNERS AND MANUFACTURERS
CAN PROTECT THEIR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
1. Register names and logos as a trade marks
2. Protect a product’s unique shape as a registered design
3. Patent a completely new working part
4. Use copyright to protect drawings of the product
4.4 CAN YOU COPYRIGHT A SHAPE?
In an interview with Barche Magazine IP Lawer Massimiliano Mostardini of Italian law firm Bird and Bird stated;
When I graduated, my thesis was on: “Copyrighting a shape, an impossible task”. Now, however, lots of things have changed. Over the years both the regulations and case law have evolved, making it possible.
Mostardini was being interviewd by Barche Magazine about a dispute between Hanse Yachts and Cantiere del Prado in 2017. Hanse had accused Cantiere del Prado of copying aspects of their Hanse 42 power boat.
The court case was well publicised and brought up some interesting rulings in the process, but the case was finally settled out of court.
IP Lawer Massimiliano Mostardini of Italian law firm Bird and Bird.
Courtesy Barche Magazine
4.5 COOPERATION, COORDINATION, COMMUNICATION
Teamwork matters. Creating any new complex product from scratch, in transport in particular, requires teamwork. Complex products require a synergy of design, engineering and manufacturing skills. No one team, and certainly no one person can do it all on their own.
These skills need to be coordinated. This requires capable management and it requires good communication between the three teams and their respective managers. If one team or one person is being siloed from the other two something is seriously wrong in the management of the project and alarm bells should be ringing.
Keep up with fresh ideas and inspired design from Grainger Designs. We won't bug you with a barrage of emails. Maximum of two per month.
