David Barnett
Well, Bill... that is the question, and there's not always an easy answer. In furniture, surely one can replicate period furniture, say Queen Ann, Federal, Chippendale, Hepplewhite, even some A&C designs and no-one's going to bat an eye. In fact, how closely you replicate the design and workmanship is key to your success. In woodworking, in glass casting, in jewelry-making, and other crafts which have millenia old traditions and evolution of styles, one would only run into trouble if one replicates with intent to defraud, in essence, to forge with intent deceive and profit from that enterprise.

So one obvious way (but not the only way) to draw the line is legality. If someone owns a design, whether or not they possess a design patent, and another reproduces that design and sells it as his or her own, that can be legally challenged. Copyrights, patents, and other legal instruments, licensing agreements, contracts and so on can protect intellectual property, of course.

When the essence of an owned and novel idea is copied and sold, with altered features, such as proportions, finishes, and so on, it may very well require legal intervention to determine whether the departures are sufficient to establish originality. Whether there was intent to breach another's design by making superficial changes can also figure into the equation, but not always . This can be a very broad and grey area and sometimes it's simply not worth the effort to defend.

On a forum dedicated to jewelry makers, gem setters, silversmiths, and so on, these issues have been covered thoroughly for years. Replicating museum pieces won't likely draw adverse reaction unless they're of substandard execution or materials (there are exceptions, though). But when a novel design and making procedure is owned, to duplicate it without license or claim it as one's own is will likely invoke challenges. With jewelry, the fact that something which may have been originally fabricated from wire or sheet can be knocked off in an inferior cast version and sold at a price undercutting the original designer-maker is an all too-frequent problem and can complicate the protection process.

In the furniture world, Thos. Moser wrote books with plans for his Shaker furniture. To duplicate these designs for one's own use was considered fair use, but selling them to others was not. To measure and copy original Shaker works and make them and sell them as replica Shaker furniture is fair. You will not own the design (though your drawings may be considered copyrighted), nor will you easily challenge another who likewise measures and reproduces his line of furniture from the same originals. You will have to depend on better workmanship, nicer wood, better booth presentation, selling venues and yes, salesmanship to compete with the other fellow.

Now with more recent styles, say pieces with a strong Krenovian influence, one can say "this is a Krenov-inspired cabinet" and that's unlikely to provoke a challenge. Copy and sell a current furniture manufacturer's design, different story.

Yes, it's confusing, it can cause turf wars that may or may not involve lawyers, and it's always a hot topic of discussion in craft forums.

The moral issues aren't so terribly complex, in my opinion. If you make items for your own use, from design books, published and copyrighted drawings and don't make a habit of selling them, you're fine. If someone owns a design and you make and sell it without consent, especially if you make a business of it, that's not fine. If you see someone's original work in a craft show and it's of their design and a distinctly novel design and you think "you know, I could make those and sell them, too," and you give into the temptation and do it, you may not burn for it, but I'd say it's immoral.

So the simple rule for period furniture is the further back you go, the safer. For modern stuff, don't knock it off and try to sell it. If you can't come up with your own design, get legal advice before you make or sell that design, and never ever represent another's design as your own. Except to relatives, maybe.