Post #215595 by Tipsy McStagger on Sat, Feb 18, 2006 2:05 PM

It's not the object "easter island head/image " that is under scrutiny here, but a particular artists rendition or interpretation of the object"easter island head/image"......let's make this clear.....there are thousands of interpretations of easter island heads.....each artists particular twist on it is his own variation/interpretation, provided no one else prior to him came up with that exact same interpretation. If someone else is too lazy to create their own version and steals/ uses someone elses without their consent, this could violate certain copyright laws....and here's where the monster bites you in the ass........the reason so many versions of easter heads exist is not because people were suddenly bursting with creativity and love of tiki, but because in order to GET AROUND COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT LAWS you only have to change the design a small percentage from the original in order to safely side- step a lawsuit!!! (about 30% or less I believe). ......so there you have it. This also applies to why so many tiki mug makers got away with making mugs similair to their competeters.....the restuarants and bars, in their race to capitalize on each others successes in the biz, copied those successes be they mugs, menus, graphics, decor or what have you by doing so in a way that kept all parties out of the courtroom, and yet were similiar enough that the general public wouldn't notice or care.