PDF/ JPG file conversion threat.

[nukecad]

If someone wants to copy something then they will copy it, there is nothing you can do about that apart from making it more difficult to copy.

 

By  'protecting' a PDF (or any other filetype) that is all you are doing - making it more difficult to copy.

 

I would guess that the first original design was probably putting a bend in a twig to hook grubs out of tree trunks - which was quickly copied/reverse-engineered by others.

[SLW210]

All you can do is make it as difficult as possible. I find one of the better methods is to save as a block and scale slightly to a different odd ball x and y scale, then make it an image file at as a low a resolution as feasible and still get the information across.

 

There are many ways, but to a determined individual, nothing that can't be overcome. A good legal contract goes a long way to provide a deterrent.

[ammobake]

On 6/19/2020 at 9:39 AM, lrm said:

"Our client (US govt) eventually stole my templates, title blocks, etc..."

 

If I paid a company for CAD drawings I would expect that I would own the title block that came with the drawings unless there was an agreement between the companies (the US gov't being one of them) to the contrary.  A unique graphic design could be copyrighted but I don't think that covers your concern.

 

This does make me feel better about the entire thing.

 

The current drawing standards they still use , layering scheme, CTB's, multileader styles, title blocks, etc.  were all made by myself.  They are a vast improvement over what they were using before.  In the world of contracting, the argument could be made that it was all theirs in the first place.  (or at least the final asbuilts).

So you are definitely not wrong.

 

In the case of a design concept, you submit a design for approval and that design either gets approved or disapproved via the submittal process.

But the design concept is still your own original work.  So it's still important to take pride in that I think.

 

And the fact they stole/adopted those - whatever you want to call it - could be taken as a general nod in my direction so I shouldnt' complain.

But I still grimace to see it just knowing they didn't actually put the thought into all that level of detail.  They just copy what I did instead of coming up with something actually original.

 

With an entire building full of engineers and design experts, they can't do that?

 

For the purposes of future reference, It's fulfilling.  I've based designs for modern day LEED projects off of hand drawn plans from 1942.  And i felt a kinship with that guy who drew those plans all those years ago.

 

Hundreds of drawing sets of mine sit in a permanent government vault.  Some 2 page sets, some 160.

And i wonder if in another 70 years someone will see my name on a set of plans somewhere and wonder who I was - what my life may have been like.

 

This is why I take my work so seriously I guess.

 

And I guess, also, the issue of intellectual property protections is more honed toward fledgling companies and/or products, patents, etc.. that are meant to be introduced to a buyer at some point in the future.  So in that regard, I definitely can understand why you would want to safeguard that property to the extent possible.

 

-ChriS

[BIGAL]

"This is why I take my work so seriously I guess. "

 

I know of a Army ordinance map that was hand drafted before CAD, he got bored and added a tiny train to a section of railway line.

[lrm]

"But the design concept is still your own original work.  So it's still important to take pride in that I think."

 

It may be your original work but that doesn't mean you own it. 

 

Bill Gates didn't invent or own DOS when he sold a non-exclusive license to IBM.  He later purchased it from Seattle Computing and sold it to several companies.

I worked for a university.  Any patents that may have been issued as a result of the work I did were contractually owned by the university.  Interestingly, my liberal arts colleagues got the full royalties for any books they published while employed by the university.   

 

Theft of intellectual property does happen but  ownership is determined by a contract and not by who came up with the idea or implemented it. You can take pride in your work but not necessarily ownership.  Just look at the difficulties Taylor Swift has had with songs she has written and recorded but doesn't own the rights to.

[nukecad]

5 hours ago, BIGAL said:

I know of a Army ordinance map that was hand drafted before CAD, he got bored and added a tiny train to a section of railway line.

 

UK Ordnance Survey maps are know for the draughtsmen 'hiding' their names, and those of family members, somewhere on them.
Cliffs, crags, and outcrops are favourite places, but some got even more cunning/creative with other landscape features..

 

You can spend many an hour pouring over a map looking for them. (Lockdown activity to keep the kids busy?).

 

Of course it was forbidden by the OS, but they still did (still do?) it.
Some have speculated that the OS themselves took up the practice to help catch out forgers copying their maps.
No doubt that is true, mapmakers usually put some 'false' feature in there that doesn't exist, to catch forgers..

 

Here are a few examples from the Isle of Wight map, (probably easier to find than most as you just have to follow the coastline):
http://www.paulplowman.com/stuff/isle-of-wight-map-hidden-names/

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by nukecad

[ammobake]

lol yeah i've seen this kind of thing before.

I personally have a couple easter eggs in my titleblock (a signature from the creator). You just wouldn't know it was there unless u knew where to look.

[oddssatisfy]

Hello I need to convert a photo (jpg) for my son's e.visa to pdf and I am losing the will to live trying to do it, can someone please advise in laymen's terms how to do this please?