I have no background info but my guess is he showed the factories of subcontractors that make parts for him.

Wow I wasn't aware he copied text and pictures from my website !

Email sent to request removal of these pages.

> You forgot to post the rest of the story on how this is a 3 year old blog that is blocked from the public and only accessible only from the wayback-when website if one were to go looking for it.

It was a copyright infringement.
It doesn't matter if it was created 3 years or 3 days ago.
It was still online and google returned it in their search results.
It should never have been online.

> Also you did not mention that we cited you and had a link to your website as credit.

No, there were no links to my website on these articles.
It was not obvious that parts were cited from my website.
That is not how copyright works.
You did not contact me to ask for permission to use my text and photos.

> A simple e-mail would have been simple enough instead of posting half the story on an open forum opening up speculation.

I have emailed you and sent you a pm here on pinside.
You are the one who decided to reply here in public.

> Just like one could say that I am sure you have permission from all of the pinball machine manufactures, publishers etc.... and other pictures that are posted on your website.

This is about what you have done, don't try to revert this to be about me.
Don't attack me, you are the one who did something illegal.

And yes, almost all of the photos on my website are photos that I made myself.
I put a lot of effort in making suitable photos when I write an article.
I have dozens of articles in draft that I don't finish because I don't have the right photos.
I do ask for permission when I use photos made by someone else on my site and note that below each photo.
It's because I do all this effort that I don't like when people steal from my website.

> https://www.flippers.be/pinball/stern/monopoly/monopoly.html
> Do you have permission from Stern?

That is not how copyright works.

Don't interpret below as giving legal advise without a license, I just try to answer you.

The pictures of that Monopoly machine : I took these photos myself.
I held the camera in my hands and made the photo.
Therefor the copyright of that photo belongs to me and I can use that photo how I want and decide who can use or not use it.
I do not grant anyone else permission to use these photos without them asking me first.

Making the photo does not grant me any rights to the Monopoly logo or trademark.
I can't start selling t-shirts with the Monopoly logo on that I cut out of that photo.
But that photo as a whole, and almost all others on my website - I own the copyright and I decide what happens with it.

If I want to download photos from Sterns website and use them on my own site, yes then I should get their permission and comply if they ask me to change or takedown something.

> The posts on the 3 year old non active blog were removed.

Thank you.

> Do you people have nothing better to do ?

Yes I do, therefor it took me 3 years to find your blog.

> Giving credit to the ideas of others makes your ideas and proposals more believable. In addition, you avoid plagiarism and breaking U.S. Copyright Law.

Again, don't interpret this as giving legal advise without a license, but just answering you:

That is not how copyright works.

You copied large parts of my website, word by word. That is not permitted.

Citing can only be for short parts: a sentence or a short paragraph.
It should be clear that it's cited: put it between quotation marks and add the reference to the original source.

Copying whole blocks of text is not citing but a copyright infringement.

You can read my whole website, take ideas from it and rewrite everything IN YOUR OWN WORDS in your blog or book.
That is allowed.
Then you can include my site as source where you got the idea.
Especially if you copy whole ideas / structures how something is formulated then you should give credit.
As long as it are all your own words and photos you took yourself.

Rules are different for non-commercial and commercial usage.
You are a pinball manufacturer (or at least give the impression) and not a hobby project ?
If you want to play with the big boys, you have to obey all the rules.

Somehow I think this will end like Olympic Goblin.
It was also like 2 years in development until the owner learned (the hard way probably) that the term 'olympic' isn't free to use..

https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/olympic-goblin

Andrew went to one of JPop pinball design classes?

Spooky also sent out some populated replacement TNA playfields I believe.

People love the strong flippers on Stern games, ergo, if you have strong flippers then people will love your game.