"Is it an original?".... "Is it a knockoff?".... "Is it a reproduction or a reissue?".... "Was it made by an authorized licensed manufacturer?" .... "Has the design patent expired on this design, or is it copyrighted?"

These and many variations of these questions arrive in my inbox each week... great questions... very difficult to answer, if possible at all. Even the courts are challenged by such questions, claims, rights, definitions.... In researching the topic, I turned to three experts for commentary on the 'ins and outs' of this interesting and complex subject: a collector, a manufacturer, and a famous designer's heir. Click the links below to read each of these excellent commentaries.

Joe Kunkel, Editor and P.C.A. (Pop Culture Archaeologist)