To: "Tony Allgood" oakley@techrepairs.freeserve.co.uk,
From: "jhaible" jhaible@debitel.net,
cc:
Subject: AW(2): a144/a163 and JH
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 21:19:53 +0200

---

> I don't think Doepfer is wrong to take the idea from Juergen, if indeed
> he has. I am often inspired by Juergen's designs, my latest OB-Sx module
> was given a aftertouch makeover after seeing Juergen's JH720. And the
> single pot that does two things depending on which side of centre it is,
> was another JH inspiration. I do not consider this stealing, or morally
> wrong. It is sharing ideas. If you want your idea to be a secret, then
> don't tell anyone.

Tony,

when you as a private person are using my, or other contributers' circuits,
this
is perfectly right, and in fact that's the reason why we're putting the
circuits
there in the first place. Free exchange of ideas. "Free for personal use".
Of course there is a danger in that. A former EMS employee once told me
that he left the mailing lists because he can do without educating a bunch
of
potential competitors. I have a different approach. I'm in the glad position
that I have a non-music-related full time job to pay my bills. So I enjoy
this
as a hobby, and do not spend money in patents or the like. I take the risk
that someone else can make money with my intellectual property, and
I don't take the risk blindly.

I am glad that there are honest companies that *do* ask for permission
when they put things of mine into production. And I cannot sue anybody
who does not ask, but I can be pissed off, and I will say so. It would
be laughable when I tried to stop D*pfer from bringing certain modules
to the market that *resemble* (and who can claim that it is more?) some
of my work, when the resemblance is so obvious that others adressed me
about it. No way. But what I can do, and what I will do, is telling
potential
buyers that I was not asked, and that I do not get money from it. And I'll
let
the people draw their own conclusions.

JH.