he did such great work.. it's a shame they are no longer available... I know if/when I got, I want my stuff to become available in some form,even if proceeds go to charities, or they become freebies. That's how you remember artists.. their work MUST live on.

Ironhart's content was removed from the Renderosity market about 2-3 weeks after his death. You can still get a couple of his items at the Poser Pro's store. (Last time I checked they were still there)

Also, "Rendervisions" still have a few of his things. I agree with you, Gareee, I really wish his stuff was still available as I did have a couple of things on my wish list before his death that I would have liked to purchase. He was a wonderful modeler and I cherish each and everyone of the models that I do have.

Were they pulled by request from his family, or were they just pulled? I'd think Rendo would have some sort of contact info for his family, and I'm SURE they would want his artwork preserved, and might even have a charity any proceeds would go to. Or they might even gift them to the community, to preserve his memory. I'll have to check with Mendhi, to see what's happening with his stuff over there.

YOu can still get his May, poachers, Inglenook cottages, at rendervisions. Plus a fence pack and a wooden wheel. Pete

I think a site would at least have to keep the money safe, and go by what an executor said when the estate was sorted. Which could depend on the details of the contract between site and artist, and likely on whether there was anything in a dead-artist's will.

It's partly about finding who gets the rights, and what they want to do.

Freestuff, perhaps held on a third-party site, can vanish pretty suddenly. What happens when the next payment to an ISP isn't made?

Does anybody know the value of those obscure files on your machine, or what all those shiney discs contain?

Message edited on: 11/21/2004 02:44

Based on the information provided by the person who notified the community of this loss, there was no next of kin, no executor. Without anyone to administer the terms of copyright, essentially, the items couldn't be sold without potential for legal issues. So rosity sorta had to pull stuff until they can get some sort of structure established. It takes less than 30 minutes and usually not much more than 50 bucks (and nothing, in many places) to set up a sole proprietorship that can handle the terms of ownership in perpetuity, selling or passing along those rights through inheritance. If nothing else, remember that these products have a much longer shelf life than is possible to list on renderosity. They can, effectivley, be useful for as long as the various softwares support them. If not for the greed of it, or the community, or even for your children, then do it for yourself: make plans for your images, your products if you sell them, your efforts -- and protect them accordingly.

But if there is no next of kin, and no executor, then who would sue? I don;t get how rendervisions, and PoserPros is still selling them then. I do think its wrong to sell them with no artist making the money though. I'm there must be some legal eagle hanging out here that might know what the scoop on these would be. Rendo is so large, that I feel they should host these as freebie memorials to the artist who they profited from. And I KNOW Ironhart would not want to be forgotten. Maybe Sixus would host them? Les And Reb. ae generous to the community and stick up for thier opinions and morals.

I suspect that another site may have decided that they're safe to keep selling, as long as the money is in something like escrow for the eventual heirs. It might be simply being in a different State, or being advised by a different lawyer. It may even be a clause in the contract they have with their merchants. What another site does isn't a good guide to what Renderosity can do, even if people can agree on it as an example of what should be done. No, I'm not a lawyer.

Oh, I know,, I just HATE the thought that an artist's work is dying with him...

Or They may not be aware of the situation. Poser Pros is also in Tennesse with Renderosity, so we don't know if it was legal ramifications or R'osity playing on the safe side in this matter. The only one to Answer that question is The Admins here. As for PP, Gareee your best bet is to contact Russell or Guarie due to Mehndi's continued health issues.

If there was a way to host his files legally, I would be more than happy to do it. He made such lovely things and was a nice guy. --Rebekah--

I'd think, unless contested, that they coukld be hosted anywhere, so long as profits were not garnered from them. It may well be that Ironhart had no next of kin, OR anyone would could lay claim to his assets at all. I'd think the worst someone could do if they were hosted anywhere as a memorial would be a "cease and desist" thing. (Just like if you sell something resembling a copyrighted item in the us.)

I don't have any of his stuff. Did he have freebies ? I could start with those. --Rebekah--

Uhm... I would ask his family before you start hosting his products free or not. From what I understodd when he passed away he has a cousin and aunt. Wouldn't his copyright pass on to them? I do know they would not become public domain for quite a few years.

I had a drum set with ironhart, very extensive with over two dozen hand-made textures. We also had a platform hut finished and ready to go (similar to the treehouse at DAZ now), that never made it to market. I understand that he left only a cousin, who took care of cremation expenses and other details. Apparently he died with no instructions as to what to do with his work. I don't think it's safe to assume that it can be sold or given away. The drum set was pulled two days after his death, and the beautiful platform hut was scrapped because of respect and concern for his copyright. Since he left no directions, I think Renderosity did the correct and legal thing by pulling them when they did. I don't feel right selling the drums or the platform hut now, and I personally don't think it's right to sell or give away his work either. It will live on in the art and hearts of people who knew him. One thing we could all do is make arrangements now for what we want done and how we want out art and other work handled when we're no longer around to produce and protect it.

Linwhite, can you contact his cousin? Not releasing his last work, even if as a freebie is denying it. Artwork is created to share, and I can not think of ONE artists who would want his artwork removed or destroyed after he is gone. Imagine if all of DaVinci's work was removed, or destroyed after his death.. or Picasso's, Or Dali's.

Yeah, if he has any living relatives I wouldn't be comfortable doing it without written permission. --Rebekah--

I'm not sure the cousin can legally give permission. It's the law of the land that determines this....rather than what we think ironhart "might" want. I personally feel that he was a generous, big-hearted person who loved to give his own work away, but I remember he was deeply offended by the warez thing and the posts he saw by people who did not buy his cottages, but got them from "friends". He expressed this to me several times. I won't name names, but it hurt him. I believe part of the reason for his death was because he did not have the financial means to seek proper treatment for the pneumonia that eventually killed him. Warez and "friend" trading contributed to loss of income for him, that I know, and thus contributed to his eventual death. He said several times, that he considered the drums my project because it took very little time for him to make the models and a long time for the textures. I still would not feel right selling them now, even after he basically gave them to me. It's just a matter of not only what is lawful but what is right. I'm sure after Picasso, Dali, and DaVinci's deaths that their work was not given away, either. I even feel strange trying to find another modeler to continue the drum sets, which was an on-going project with many new drums to be added. I have a whole folder full of ideas for them....which is now just sitting there on my hard-drive. Anyway, that's my feelings and that's the law in Tennessee and in California, where he lived and died. If we truly respect copyright as we claim to do, then it should be respected for the living and the dead.

Well, Lin, do what you feel best. Art should, IMHO, live on after the artist, and allow us to remember them.

I think that given the general reaction, I wouldn't feel comfortable hosting any of his files. :( --Rebekah--

We continue to sell His work in honor of his memory and send checks to his old address. Someone in his family still cashes the check so we will continue to send them to honor his memory and tremendous skills until a family member tells us otherwise. -Lady Cherry Rendervisions Team Member