DIY for profit

[gunbunnysoulja]

Does anyone here know if DIY speaker building for re-sale is allowed by the original designers/DIY community? I don't mean mass produced, however I'm inquiring for a friend who is a carpenter and knows there are a lot of people out there who would want speakers, such as the Jim Holtz Statements but don't have the capability, tools, desire or know-how to build them. I know I saw threads in the past of people hiring carpenters to build the cabinets for DIY designs, so I wasn't sure if that was acceptible or not.

Thanks!

[impala454]

I'd reserve judgement from Jim or Curt themselves, but Curt's website does state: "All designs you find here are copyrighted, but free for non-commercial use."

So take that as you may. In my own personal opinion, an individual paying someone else to build the cabinets is no biggie, but someone building the speakers for the sole purpose of selling them to a third party and making a profit would not be cool without their consent.

[cjd]

Always always always ask the designer. Given the time investment to design a speaker/crossover, you're only asking for trouble if you don't.

Also, offering cabinet-building services is subtly (but importantly) different from offering specific designs. If I can ask you to build me any old cabinet, you're in the business of simply offering cabinet-building services. That would mean you may post pictures of finished product, but would not note *which* design it's for... If, however, you only offer the Statements (to continue your example,) you're into areas IP law has some hold.

C

[JonMarsh]

Impala454's comments are reasonable- realistically, I think you can only approach that on a case by case situation- designer by designer.

In today's difficult economy, I wouldn't have any problem with someone using my designs (which I expect no compensation for- they are gifts to the "community") to build systems for resale to those who cannot do DIY themselves. Or to whomever.

At the other side of the scale are guys like Jed, who have already successfully (I think!) gone commercial, and are making their way in a tough competitive market- and their DIY designs have mostly been withdrawn from the public venue. That is their reasonable choice to make, too.

I couldn't possibly find time to build speakers for other folks, or support selling designs- I can hardly find time to build my own prototypes in a reasonable time, due to my day job, which is likely more lucrative than building and selling speakers for a living at any level. So to those who want to go that route, I wish them the best of luck and fortune.

~Jon

[cjd]

someone building the speakers for the sole purpose of selling them to a third party and making a profit would not be cool without their consent.

Without permission, it's beyond just not being cool, it's not legal. There are designers that work with cabinet-builders (see Jim Salk's work) and offer proprietary designs this way - they're not shared, and they're paid for their work.

TANSTAAFL

[Undefinition]

I couldn't possibly find time to build speakers for other folks, or support selling designs- I can hardly find time to build my own prototypes in a reasonable time, due to my day job, which is likely more lucrative than building and selling speakers for a living at any level. So to those who want to go that route, I wish them the best of luck and fortune.

This is where I'm at as well.

But please, as a designer, I would like to be asked permission before building and selling any of my designs for profit, however meager.

[gunbunnysoulja]

This is where I'm at as well.

But please, as a designer, I would like to be asked permission before building and selling any of my designs for profit, however meager.

I completely agree with that logic. I spoke with Jim/Curt in regards to permission.

Thanks for the great feedback everyone!

[PMazz]

Unless you've got customers with deep pockets and little regard for resale or bragging rights, you can make WAY more money using your skill set and tools than by making speakers. I could make an entire room of casework in the time it takes to make a set of speakers. YMMV