Isn't tracing a mesh "illegal" too? As I understand it, DAZ prohibits tracing of their meshes. Might be, if they had a copyright to the original shape being reproduced. But they don't. And yes, I was wondering if WURLITZER ever gave permission for a 3D model lookalike of their jukebox - or if it is needed at all, I remember you once said something about owning the copyright to a thing in its various instances - that a car and a 3D model of a car wasn't the same and wasn't covered by the same copyright... A car, as a functional device, cannot be copyrighted at all (though things like the logo on it and such can). Functional devices such as cars, jukeboxes, and so on, can have their general appearance protected under a degign patent, but a design patent prevent people from making the same sort of device with the same sort of look. A few years back Apple sued e-Machines for making a PC that looked a lot like an iMac, and got a cease and desist order in the US. They didn't get legal restitution, and that was Apple versus another big PC company. Just a cease and desist. That was a design patent case in pure form. Other ocmpanies have come up with things like toys that look like iMacs and cannot be limited by Apple because apple doesn't have a design patent against the look, only the look of a computer. A name for a car cannot be copyrighted as a single word or phrase does not count as a 'work' under copyright law. That would be a trademark, not a copyright, and unless they have registered a trademark for 3D models (rather unlikely) is probably not protected. Of course, as I said above, rules may vary from country to country slightly, though countries under the Berns convention should have very similar Berne Convention compliant copyright laws -- but the Berns convention didn't cover everything, and grey areas (YES, grey areas) are the places countries have to fill in the details or not. A logo can be copyrighted, even if it spells something out. For instance, I could write a book and mention The Wizards of the Coast, as a group of evil wizards who live on the coast of the Dagger Sea, and not be violating WoTC's IP rights because theyhave no copyright on the simple phrase. However, I could not use their stylized logo without their permission. That's copyrighted as a work of art, in this case graphic design. Further, I could not start a game company called 'Wizards of the Coast' or even anything close and potentially confusing like 'Wizards of the Coat' or 'Wizards of a Coast' (though I could probably get away with a parodical company called 'Lizards of the Coast'). However, I could start a surfboard company and call it 'Wizards of the Coast' despite WoTC's name because they are not in the business of selling surfboards or anything related, and such a company would not violate their trademark. So the next time you pass by a McDonald's Pub or something and wonder how they 'get away with it', well, that's how. So, no, wurlitzer doesn't have to give permission for someone to model their jukebox, Volkswagen doesn't have to give permission for you to model a beetle, and the local water and sanitation company doesn't have to give you permission to model a fire hydrant. However, DAZ does have the right to keep you from making Vicki because she's a made-up work of art for license. BTW, DAZ doesn't specifically say anywhere that you're not allowed to manually trace their meshes, though it can be assumed reasonably well that they do not want you to. DAZ does say you can't copy one of their meshes by any automated means, and they specifically mention stuff like shrink wrapping.