Nowhere does copyright mention a license to build one article from a set of plans (this is the function of patents).
That is correct but it does say that on page two of plans I have sold and on the pages of many other plan sets. When the plans are purchased the buyer is agreeing to the terms below in the case of the demon V8. I'm not a lawyer either but after reading the terms its clear.
Now when Doc built two engines I could have hit him up for the money for the second set of plans. As he was building them for his own personal use I didn't, wouldn't do that because of his intent. I had fun following the build and was quite happy for him when both were finished and running. Thought it was awesome! Now if he purchased a set of plans to build 5 to sell on ebay that would be another issue and some kind of agreement would need to be hashed out.
If someone purchased the drawings and wanted to resell them I could shut that down also according to the agreement. Again common sense would prevail if someone bought a set and decided to sell because they decided not to work on the project. Also some people seem to think that if they take another's drawings and model all the parts, they can give away or sell the models as there own work. Sorry but that would also violate the "intent of a one time, one engine, one end-user (the original Buyer's) license". Bottom line is if you don't agree with the terms, don't purchase the drawings. Also ask for a copy of the terms before you purchase to make an informed decision.
As we all know the law can be argued until the end of time. The thing we should not argue is, we all know what was intended by the original authors of the plans from the beginning of time until now. If you want to build an engine, purchase the plans. If you want to sell plans, models, or gcode for an engine, design one, build the prototype, and generate the drawing set and have fun. It all comes down to having respect for someone else's work and not what some lawyer's opinion on weather or not you can use that work without permission. I believe it would be hard to find 5 people on this forum that believe that if the below paragraph didn't exist in a drawing set they would be ok to sell them on ebay because "nobody said not to". We all know better than that and we all do better than that because it's the right thing to do.
I believe everyone on this forum has great respect for others work. It's the people looking for the quick buck that made putting paragraph's like the one below into the plan sets. Back in the 40's, 50's, and 60's this paragraph was probably not needed back then. Lets not worry about what's legal and focus on what is the right thing to do. We all know what that is no matter what the law says. I'm sure legally everything I have written can be picked apart, but ask yourself, does that make it right". It all comes down to common sense and respect. If you are not sure, call the author of the plans or his remaining family for permission, not your lawyer. I'm not a lawyer nor do I know the law but I do know right from wrong and what my heart say's about doing what is right.
Again, i'm not telling anyone what to do, I'm just telling you how i feel about the subject. This is not a rant but a heart felt opinion on how i believe we should treat each other.
Personal Use License: The Seller grants the Buyer a single, personal, non-exclusive, perpetual license to
use these prints to construct one (1) set of components identified herein for use in constructing one (1)
completed model engine for the Buyer's personal use. All commercial uses or commercial development
are strictly prohibited. These prints and the single license to use them may not be used for serial production
of more than one (1) set of components for one (1) model engine, nor may the prints be copied, resold,
redistributed, re-licensed, sub-licensed, assigned, sold, transferred, shared or used in any manner which is
inconsistent with the intent of a one time, one engine, one end-user (the original Buyer's) license to use the
prints. All forms of title to and ownership of the prints and license to use them remain with the Seller.