Fair use and origami design "extension"

[Cadix]

I have two modifications I make to Hojyo Takashi's Buddha. One to the hand, the other to the head. But these aren't really tweaks to the original folds, but almost complete replacement of the folds in that region of the paper.

For instance, I replace the hands starting with:



That turns into:



The face follows a similar path, though the starting paper is slightly more integrated (but not by much).

Is it within fair use to publish free diagrams that go from the first image to the second image online even though they're meant to be used with a copyrighted model?

Would it be considered good form to talk to Takashi first?

[Folderp]

I'm not sure about everything else, but it would definitely be considered good form to talk to him first, and impolite not to.

[jeko]

So you want to publish something like this: https://faltkunst.webs.com/modeltuning.htm ?
I don't know about the legal implications, but I'd consider this similar to posting photos that explain a difficult step here on the forum which afaik nobody ever has complained about. Asking the author first is definitely the polite thing to do.

[Baltorigamist]

I third the notion of contacting the author. Regarding the analogy to posting photos, I'm not sure the comparison works since the photos are meant to guide others in the work of a third party (the author), whereas in this case the work is partly Cadix's.
From what I understand, I believe Takashi would retain copyright of the derivative work, at least under US law. I can't speak for any international laws, however.

[jeko]

Publishing this kind of model tuning implies that you show an intermediate step of the model, i.e., the one from which the modification starts. I just wanted to say: authors don't seem to mind if such an isolated intermediate step gets shown/explained.

[Gerardo]

It's a really peculiar case, so it's hard to say. I do know you would definitely need the authorization, if you wish to include a picture of the whole model or even a drawn image of the whole model, since the fold it's based on isn't yours.

If you need help contacting Mr. Takashi or have a doubt regarding copyright, remember that you can contact Origami Authors and Creators: http://digitalorigami.com/oac/

Hope this helps .

[Cadix]

Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like the thing to do is not worry about fair use and just go by what the other wants.

[Gerardo]

Well, being such a unique case it's hard for me to interpret it through the lens of "fair use". That might also be the case regarding the other members who have also answered this thread. Besides that, only a trial can determine if it is or isn't fair use, so it's not always a good idea to speculate if there is or isn't fair use in a given case. Know what I mean?