I'd have to make an additional fixture in order to machine the target faces on the GB drop targets. The target face has a tapered face.

I was thinking something simple...maybe just the circle w/ the bar through it. If I use a 1/16th ball nose end mill to machine the engraving, it will really stand out.

Thanks for compliment on my drop targets...I really appreciate it.

IDK... If it were me... I'd find the owner of "ecto 1" vanity plate in new York... and license a right to duplicate from him.
Then; well Stern can go pound sand?

great, i wasn't sure if you could do one for GB.
i agree also, far superior than 3d printing and look much better.

I can't tell from the PF pics if GB uses the same targets as Metallica, or the same type that is used on WPT

Either way, tool paths are already written for both styles.

The drop from mustang are like gb and I am sure the same

I've never seen a Mustang pin in person.

Do you know what the part # is?

Could the black casing be made white swinks? Lighting up the sign would be sweet, if you can make the case white sign me up man!

that's a great idea swinks.

I'm assuming other modders working through Stern are grossing up their prices to cover that slice of the pie.

I wonder what the markup is. Some mods seem a bit pricier these days.

Great idea Jady, I'll take one....I'm a sucker for light up stuff.

You really dont understand the IP laws of the united states, and the legal requrements of a licensee.

You clearly have an understanding of licensing.

How did stern serve any of you guys with notices? Email? Pinside private messages? Letter in the mail? You guys should seriously just ignore this stuff and go about your business. As long as you're not doing something illegal, then Stern's wishes are not your concern. Simply ignore them and go on about your business. The only way they can know you even received their C&D is if they sent it registered mail or such *and* you signed for it. It should be common knowledge that you absolutely never sign for any documents that you don't know are coming.

The ecto car with the ghostbusters logo is probably copyright. The word "slimer" no way. that's too generic. See if there's a trademark listed for that word at the US Trademark office. If not, you're good to tell them to screw off (and you do that by not responding and ignoring). If someone wants you to pay some sort of royalties on things like plastic protectors then simply ignore them. That stuff isn't copyright.

Free or not is irrelevant... distributing it and or using it beyond your own personal use is the threshold.

markmon is right about the C&D procedure. If Stern sends an email or PM, it doesn't mean a thing. Now, you can respect their wishes out of professional courtesy, but until you get an actual legal notice, typically from the license holder itself, you can ignore it and keep moving along. Doing that won't win you any future favors with Stern, but it's up to you how you want to manage relationships in this hobby.

Hmmm, let's see...send a C&D is the cost of a stamp....hiring legal counsel to file a Complaint (most likely in federal court) is $350 in filing fees and several attorney hours at $400 per. Proving that you violated IP rights that then entitle the IP holder to damages equal to essentially the profits you made on the mod equals a total waste of time for Sony. My two cents = ain't no way Sony spends the time and money to prosecute a case against small time mod makers to recover a few hundred bucks.

But if they use the Chewbacca defense in court you're doomed. Your mod ruined the brand name and that is why the new GB movie flopped. You owe $1B damages and have to sit through the movie twice.

Sony.....and ONLY Sony has the power to enforce copyright infringement on IP owned by Sony.

Looks like he's going for it. Testing the waters.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fs-ecto-1-lighted-car

But don't forget. Pinside has a relationship with Stern. Just like the GB leaked pictures they may ask Robin to respect their wishes and take them down.

It will probably devolve into if you have any unofficial mods installed on your machine your warranty is void.

It's legal because the car is already a licensed product, or in other words, someone already paid the license fee.

Stern does not even have a warranty on it's pinball machines.

90 days on the circuit boards and display.

WE shall see!! Good luck buddy

I made my own

True, but they have in the past for me and friends of mine, replaced many parts for free well past 90 days. Over a year in some cases. They may start asking for a picture of your machine or something before they replace anything....lol

Pinside has no official relationship with stern or any other manufacturer--it's completely independent. The take-downs were done as a professional courtesy towards the designers as well as Stern, as mentioned before.

Unless you're the designated licensee .. and part of your responsibility is protecting the IP within that space. Like PPS does with with William's IP. Rick doesn't own it. He licenses it, and enforces his exclusivity and protects against its dilution.

This is why its important to understand if Stern has started to expand the terms of their licensing deals to be more than just what they are producing in the game.

I've heard Stern mention that "official" mods don't negate warranties, so there must be some fine print somewhere that lists unofficial mods as a way to invalidate a warranty.

Gary Stern said this??

Understood. That is what I mean. If Gary contacted Robin saying this is bothering him Robin may extend the same type of courtesy.

Legal IP wise. But now they are a reseller. What is his Tax ID number.

I would imagine any "modification" to the OEM product could void warranty, ESPECIALLY with spike system. If you put a load on the existing power supply, there's no telling what it might do to components.

1warranty_(resized).jpg

Well, that was the official policy when 3rd-party shaker motors were frying boards in spike systems a while back.

I understand that no company is going to warranty something that was damaged by improper alteration.

But that is different than saying that ANY mods void the warranty.

A leak of proprietary information is different than community-driven content posted by members.

So you're saying Stern can sue an individual for copyright infringement for another company regarding that other companies IP?

I don't think so.

No, read the post again. You're making up strawman arguments.

It depends on what the licensing arrangement is. Classically Stern has only made deals with the scope to produce their own product. But now that Stern has moved into the accessory business.. they may be negotiating further reaching arrangements to be the licensee within a product space.

It is in my opinion this community of people is what has saved Stern and the pinball industry from certain death. Now they are taking the enthusiasts hobby, and making it so they can't share and sell modification because it potentially cuts into their new found aftermarket business. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. Their business survived due to the efforts of many of the people on this forum. Business opportunities exploited to increase profit margins. I fully understand a business is in business to make money. What I struggle to see is the added quality or return on the increased MSRP that we all pay to Stern for a new game. A couple years ago NIB games were $4000-4500, what do the PROs go for now, $5500? I don't really see this adding to a better quality product, or even a warranty for said home use customers, which many of these items are targeted towards.

In my opinion Sterns products are becoming very generic and only suite to quick turn around. The toys and features in a machine are cheap looking, like the castle walls on GOT premium, sheet metal with some stickers, totally looks 3D to me...If it requires tooling, it isnt going into a machine; laser cut, bend, sticker, done.

Sorry for the rant, it is just sad to see a company do this to the community that makes it viable in the first place.

You're regurgitating the same argument.

Again, only Sony can sue over their own IP.

Period.

You can share and sell all the modifications you want, no problem.

You just can't steal any trademarked items from Sony.

-

You can make an aftermarket alternator that fits any recent Ford, no problem.

You just can't put the Ford logo on it.

Wrong. Period. This is what happens when you over generalize.

Rights and exclusive use can be transferred under legal contracts, leading to the licensee having authority under the Copyright Act to enforce their benefits.

It's exactly why PBR is the one who goes after Gottlieb uses.. and why PPS does the same.. They aren't the copyright owners, they have license for exclusive use of those copyrights and assets within a defined space.

Wrong.

Shoo. Move along.

get a room.

If anyone needs tips on infringing on film copyright as it relates to pinball my friend Kevin is a legal expert in the subject. He says it's totally OK and probably legal, just do it via PM and no snitching.

You are perpetuating some misconceptions in the way licensing/copyright/trademarks actually work.

flynnibus has a better grasp of how things work and has explained it in an easily understandable fashion.

However, there are certainly limits to actions that a licensee can take on behalf of the IP owner.

No, I'm stating a fact. You're only going to get sued by Sony (if they even give a rat's ass) if you make mods that infringe on their IP.

Done with this thread. Draining!