Original or Copy?

Not sure if this the correct place to ask, but here goes anyways.
I bought my favourite pair of boots inworld almost a year ago (Mainly because they have a striking resemblance with a pair I own and love RL) the only drawback is they are no copy, no mod, yes transfer.. So it's not possible to add them to a ready made appearance more than once.
I now feel confident and competent enough to create something similar and as the originals are no modify, there's no way for me to identify which prims were used, their size or textures etc, so the final detailing will no doubt be far from identical. I also plan to change certain aspects and add personal touches but I do still want them to be of a similar style!

So my question is.. Would my creation be considered "copying" or even "content theft"??

Any advice and/or info greatly appreciated!
Regards,
Suzi.

If it is then a lot of people are guilty of this.....

nope

I also had that same question a year? ago... maybe less maybe more.. can't remember

(except mine was that something I made but never released looked very similar to something someone well known released months later.. if I released mine now(at the time of the post) would mine be considered copying)

At that time I realized that we worry too much about being accused of copying when we are innocent, because everyone suspects everyone else

your situation to me, comes across as inspiration, not copying... you were/are inspired by something someone else made... happens all the time

totally agree

Thank you both so much for taking the time to reply, I feel much more at ease with the issue having seen them!
Now I just need to avoid the numerous distractions, quirks and bugs that make SL™ such a unique experience
I should add "finding time in RL" to my list of needs, it's also the reason for the delay in my being able to reply.

{BTW, is this forum synced to lag the same way SL does?}

Regards,
Suzi.

No you got the idea to do your own thing"in style of" or whatever so no problem at all.

When I do stuff I never look or check if it's been done before.When I am done and pleased with the outcome I bang it up for sale.

If I put it on Xstreet then I check.A pound to a penny it's been done before.Nothing new under the sun.I still put it up but cheaper.LOL

Agreed.....

A lot of really cool content in SL was likely inspired by someone elses cool stuff.....that's often the way design/fashion works. If you have an idea because those boots inspired you......then go for it!!!

The term "Copying" is appropriate here.. in the same way that "Sensations" copied "xCite". Burger King copied McDonalds, Warner Brother copied Disney, Deep Space Nine copied Babylon 5.. etc.

Unfortunately, socially, the term "copy" has a lot of connotations due to the naming of the permissions ("duplicate" would have been better), and the unfortunate choice of name of a certain libSL experiment gone wrong. Previous to that libSL experiment, "using an unethical means to duplicate a model, circumventing the permissions system" was called "ripping".

Depending on how close your "Copy" is, you may or may not be guilty of infringing on the other person's intellectual property rights... even if you made it all yourself and regardless of textures. (how many companies have taken eBay to court over "Replicas"?). That's not the same as theft, but in the social sense of SL, it is.

My advice is that you simply use the other boots "as a guild".. and instead of copying them as close as possible, go back to your real-life boots. Take some pictures of them at various angles, look at the boots closely, and focus your design more on replicating the real boots (or "Source".. rather than replicating precisely how one seller made his(hers?).

Don't simply "rip" the model (or copy it very closely), and retexture it..

and please don't try to "make just enough changes that you won't get in trouble".. everyone can totally see through that trick, and you'll be branded as a theif. Make design decisions that are clearly your own.. try and make improvements.. Add features, use fewer prims, see if you can make your boots "better" or "more realistic" than the ones you bought....

And then you won't be guilty of anything more than copying the boot design from RL, and taking some building cues from another maker's attempt.

This is your chance to make a choice, on how you want people to see you and your work from now on. Choose the high road. It's more work, but it's worth it.