Making Silicone Mold

[ncraiders]

I found a single cavity mold online i want to use.  I am looking to make a multi cavity mold using this shape.  My issue is that i have no clue what i can use inside the silicone mold that will hold the shape when i go to pour the silicone to make the mold.  Does anyone have a good idea on what i can use as well as a decent place to get the silicone used to make the molds.

[TallTayl]

Copyright issues aside, you’d need something dense to make a new master from the mold. You could try other materials like wax, but trust me when I say it floats no matter what you do. Floating masters waste a ton of $ilicone. 

 

Then buy RTV silicone from some place like smooth-on.com. Secure the new masters to the base of something leak proof. Then pour the rtv. Cure and done. The selling site has videos to demo the process. It’s not cheap. 

 

Back to copyright... since you do not own the rights to the master it’s illegal and unethical to reproduce that mold. The only molds I make are of my original work. 

[ncraiders]

17 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Copyright issues aside, you’d need something dense to make a new master from the mold. You could try other materials like wax, but trust me when I say it floats no matter what you do. Floating masters waste a ton of $ilicone. 

 

Then buy RTV silicone from some place like smooth-on.com. Secure the new masters to the base of something leak proof. Then pour the rtv. Cure and done. The selling site has videos to demo the process. It’s not cheap. 

 

Back to copyright... since you do not own the rights to the master it’s illegal and unethical to reproduce that mold. The only molds I make are of my original work. 

you have a point there i had not thought about the copyright issue.  thanks for bringing that part up.  I will refrain from making my own mold.  i wish there mold had higher amaounts of cavities as what i wanted to do the one cavity is not enough.  back to the drawing board.

Edited June 6, 2018 by ncraiders

[ncraiders]

This topic can be removed if possible due to copyright issues i was not smart enough to think about.  again thanks for pointing that out to me.

Edited June 6, 2018 by ncraiders

[Quentin]

39 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

Back to copyright... since you do not own the rights to the master it’s illegal and unethical to reproduce that mold. The only molds I make are of my original work. 

Who would have a copyright or a patent on a candle mold? Certain things can't be copyrighted or patented. Everyday items like automobiles, spoons, forks, pencils, cotton swabs, aspirin have no protection. They may have at a time long ago.  New features MAY be patented, but Ford and Chevy don't have patents on the automobile. The list is endless. As to this instance, who holds the copyright or patent on the metal cylinder pillar mold? They're copied and manufactured by every candle company out there.

 

As to silicone molds, they seem to mostly come from Russia and China. Does it have a patent number or copyright printed on it or included in the package? I seriously doubt whether those countries have any serious patent/copyright protection for their citizens. But if you want to be sure, just contact the company and ask them! They would be more than happy to provide you with any patent numbers, etc. that they have. I feel certain of that. 

Q

[TallTayl]

The original art of that mold is copy written by the artist Automatically. You can’t just grab something and make a mold of it.

[ncraiders]

3 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

The original art of that mold is copy written by the artist Automatically. You can’t just grab something and make a mold of it.

Correct the person that makes those molds is not making the same molds everyone else does.  The ones i was looking at are ones that they sculpted into clay then make the molds from the clay they sculpted as well as all molds are made upon order rather than mass produced.  Some are fairly costly but man the detail this person put into the molds is astounding.  After more looking on the site i found a 8 cavity mold the only downside i saw was the 58$ price shipping included.

[TallTayl]

That is a nice price considering it would cost at least that in raw materials to try to make a similar one. Those I make don’t last nearly as long as the molds I have bought. 

 

A sculptor friend of mine has to defend her  own work on her dime all.the.time. People make molds then pass of the fakes as their own. It’s disgusting. 

[ncraiders]

I bet I feel for her.  I can't believe i did not think about copyright on it.  Especially after talking about copyrights on fragrances and all on here.  It should of been obvious..  For what i would like to do i would need 2 of the 8 capacity most plus a couple of single molds.  But in the end I could make due with 1 it would just be more difficult to do it.

[Quentin]

On 6/5/2018 at 9:36 PM, TallTayl said:

The original art of that mold is copy written by the artist Automatically. You can’t just grab something and make a mold of it.

Automatically? I respectfully disagree with you. On to other topics.

[TallTayl]

Maybe the breakdown here has to do with definition. Above you noted the words “trademark” and “patent”. Neither of these applies in this case.

 

The proper word is “copyright”. Who has the right to copy the original piece? Unless otherwise written, the author/artist/creator owns the rights to the piece. 

 

An exception is When a piece is created in an a commercial atmosphere, the employer often assumes all ownership of the copy rights, versus the artist. This is covered under employment contracts in the fine print which many of us sign upon accepting a position. You still cannot legally just create a copy for your own financial gain. 

[TallTayl]

 

Quote

 

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) to the creators of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available for both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:

• To reproduce the work in copies or phono records;
• To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
• To distribute copies of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
• To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
• To display the copyrighted work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
• In the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.

In addition to copyright, certain authors of works of visual art also have the rights of attribution and integrity as described in section 106A of the 1976 Copyright Act.

It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright law to the copyright holder. 

Who Owns Copyrights? 

Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed, tangible form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.

In the case of works “made for hire”, where an artist has created the work while in his/her capacity of employee, the employer and not the employee is considered to be the author and copyright holder. Where a work was created jointly by more than one artist, the authors of a joint work are all co-owners of the copyright in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. Copyright in each separate contribution to a periodical or other collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole and vests initially with the author of each contribution.

The mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, or any other work does not give the possessor of that work its copyright. The law provides that transfer of ownership of any material object that embodies a protected work does not of itself convey the copyright or any interest in the copyright. This remains in the possession of the creator and is often referred to as the underlying artist’s copyright, distinct from the physical object which embodies it.

Any or all of the copyright owner's exclusive rights or any subdivision of those rights may be transferred to another party, but the transfer of exclusive rights is not valid unless that transfer is in writing and signed by the owner of the copyright or such owner's duly authorized agent. Such transfers are comparatively rare in the U.S. and are almost never knowingly engaged in by European artists. For more on this subject, go to “Related Topics” and see the pages titled “Do U.S. Owners of Works of Art Also Control the Copyrights?”


How Long Is a Work Copyright-Protected in the United States?

Works created on or after January 1, 1978: A work that is created (fixed in tangible form for the first time) on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically protected from the moment of its creation and is given a term of copyright protection enduring for the lifetime of the artist plus an additional 70 years after the artist's death. In the case of "a joint work prepared by two or more artists who did not work for hire," the term lasts for 70 years after the last surviving artist's death. For works made for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the artist's identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright will be 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.

Works originally created before January 1, 1978, but not published or registered by that date: These works have been automatically brought under the statute and are now given federal copyright protection. The duration of copyright in these works will generally be computed in the same way as works created on or after January 1, 1978, namely, the life-plus-70 or 95/120-year terms will apply to them as well. The law provides that in no case will the term of copyright for works in this category expire before December 31, 2002, and for works published on or before December 31, 2002, the term of copyright will not expire before December 31, 2047.

Works originally created and published or registered before January 1, 1978: Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured either on the date a work was published with a copyright notice or on the date of registration if the work was registered in unpublished form. In either case, the copyright endured for a first term of 28 years from the date it was secured. During the last (28th) year of the first term, the copyright was eligible for renewal. The Copyright Act of 1976 extended the renewal term from 28 to 47 years for copyrights that were subsisting on January 1, 1978, or for pre-1978 copyrights restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), making these works eligible for a total term of protection of 75 years.

The Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act: The Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act, enacted on October 27, 1998, further extended the renewal term of copyrights still subsisting on that date by an additional 20 years, providing for a total term of protection of 95 years from the date of first U.S. publication if the work was published before January 1, 1978. For all works created or first published after January 1, 1978, the term of protection was extended by 20 years from the previous term of protection of the lifetime of the artist plus 50 years, to the lifetime of the artist plus 70 years.

Unpublished works: All works that are unpublished, regardless of the nationality of the author, are protected in the United States. Works that are first published in the United States or in a country with which the United States has a copyright treaty or that are created by a citizen or domiciliary of a country with which the United States has a copyright treaty are also protected.


How Long Is a Work Copyright-Protected Worldwide?

The term of copyright protection varies from country to country around the world, as determined by national legislation. The countries of the European Union, however, harmonized their respective terms in 1994. In the E.U. countries, the term of protection is the lifetime of the artist plus 70 years.


What Is the “Public Domain”?

A work that is no longer copyright protected is considered to be “in the public domain”. It should be noted, however, that photographs of works of art in the public domain may themselves be copyrighted and will likely require a license for publication, even though the public domain works which are the subject of the photos are no longer protected.


The Berne Convention & International Laws 

There is no such thing as an "international copyright" that will automatically protect an author's works throughout the entire world. Generally speaking, protection against unauthorized use in a particular country depends on the national laws of that country. However, most countries do offer protection to foreign works under certain conditions, and these conditions have been greatly simplified by international copyright treaties and conventions.

The most significant international copyright instrument is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. The Berne Convention has approximately 170 members, including the United States which joined in 1989. The Berne Convention is based on national treatment, meaning that a Berne member country must extend the same treatment to the works of nationals of other Berne member countries as are enjoyed by its own nationals. Furthermore, the Convention obligates member countries to adopt minimum standards for copyright protection.

The Universal Copyright Convention of September 1952 ("UCC Agreement") was created to provide an alternative to the Berne Convention. The United States ratified the UCC in 1955. The UCC imposes fewer substantive requirements than the Berne Convention. For countries that are members of both the Berne Convention and the UCC, in cases of conflict between the two conventions the Berne Convention prevails.

The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of April 15, 1994 ("TRIPS Agreement") became an annex to the agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO). In addition to providing for international minimum standards of protection in the area of intellectual property, TRIPS also establishes standards for the enforcement of such rights. It also restores U.S. copyright to foreign works which were deemed to have fallen into the public domain by virtue of their failure to fulfill the formalities previously required by U.S. Copyright Law. (For more about the results of the TRIPS Agreement, see “Restoration of Foreign Copyrights in the U.S.” in the “Related Topics” section of these pages.)

The World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty of December 23, 1996 ("WIPO Copyright Treaty") also supplements the provisions of the Berne Convention to provide stronger international protection to copyrighted material in the digital environment.

 

 

[ncraiders]

This is actually why i said the topic could be removed.  I figured it could easily start something that it was not meant to start.

[TallTayl]

23 minutes ago, ncraiders said:

This is actually why i said the topic could be removed.  I figured it could easily start something that it was not meant to start.

I think it is a very good learning and thinking thread. Every once in a while we need to have good business discussions like this 🤗. How many mistakes have been avoided by bringing the topic up again?

[ncraiders]

Just now, TallTayl said:

I think it is a very good learning and thinking thread. Every once in a while we need to have good business discussions like this 🤗. How many mistakes have been avoided by bringing the topic up again?

Atleast one.  My potential mistake that was avoided due to it.

[TallTayl]

10 minutes ago, ncraiders said:

Atleast one.  My potential mistake that was avoided due to it.

And that is worth it all 🤗. I’m happy it came up actually. It’s a good reminder to all of us. 

[ncraiders]

6 minutes ago, TallTayl said:

And that is worth it all 🤗. I’m happy it came up actually. It’s a good reminder to all of us. 

I found some beautiful molds before that i wish were silicone molds but are that cheap plastic meant for plaster of paris.  I actually have 6-7 molds i would like to buy for wax melts that i found on a site after i read your replies this post and decided to look more online for molds.

 

[ShelleyF]

@TallTayl I'm confused. I bought some icetrays that can be used for wax melts. It is Kool Aid fruits which I am sure I can use since it's just generic fruits. But it also had the Kool Aid man pitcher I wanted to use for melts. I bet I can't use that one. I really want to usr only if I can without doing anything wrong. 

Edited August 27, 2018 by ShelleyF
Added info

[TallTayl]

First assumption is that the ice trays were licensed by Kool Aid. 

 

Second assumption is that the ice made from said trays is not intended for retail sale. Selling kool aid shaped ice would likely cross a licensing line. 

 

Third assumption is that other retail products that the mold can possibly possibly be used for are also not licensed for retail sale. It “could” be used for polymer, wax, epoxy, etc. but the original license does not extend to those retail uses. 

 

Think of it like the hobby store selling sports logo polar fleece. You can buy the fleece to make a blanket for yourself, but not to sell. The license ends with the original item. 

[ShelleyF]

5 hours ago, TallTayl said:

First assumption is that the ice trays were licensed by Kool Aid. 

 

Second assumption is that the ice made from said trays is not intended for retail sale. Selling kool aid shaped ice would likely cross a licensing line. 

 

Third assumption is that other retail products that the mold can possibly possibly be used for are also not licensed for retail sale. It “could” be used for polymer, wax, epoxy, etc. but the original license does not extend to those retail uses. 

 

Think of it like the hobby store selling sports logo polar fleece. You can buy the fleece to make a blanket for yourself, but not to sell. The license ends with the original item. 

So are you saying I can make wax melts with it? It sounds like you are. lol it is very rare Jello trays. I found one at Good Will and found several cheap from a seller on eBay. The seller didn't realize it is rare. On Amazon it isn't cheap lol or at least it wasn't cheap last month. 

[TallTayl]

Not necessarily. The mold was sold for personal use, not for you to sell their branded stuff made from it. 

 

If in doubt contact kool aid. 

[Faerywren]

I enjoy topics like this. Too often I see folks using college football logos, NASCAR imagery, Disney characters etc. in their crafts without a clue that is against the law. It is stealing.