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Aero Leather Clothing trial update

Superfluous

My Mail is Forwarded Here
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3,995
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Missing in action
"Alexander leathers is the creation of Sandy Alexander, founder of the Schuh fashion footwear business, and Will Lauder, a leather industry 'veteran' with over 30 years experience of design and pattern cutting in the high-quality leather jacket business with Aero leather."

http://www.stuartslondon.com/blog/2013/05/13/alexander-leathers-hand-made-in-scotland/

"Alexander Leathers was formed after a chance meeting between Sandy Alexander, creator of the original Schuh fashion footwear business and vintage connoisseur, Will Lauder, former director and pattern cutter of Aero leathers."

http://www.stoeroosterbeek.nl/brand/alexander-leathers
http://www.sivletto.com/cgi-bin/ibu...tva&limit=388&Visn=Std&visa=1-32&Sort=PublDat

"There have been a lot of questions, supposition and general buzz over the last year as to why there was such a mass exodus from Aero Leathers resulting in Alexander Leathers staffing. Would you care to clear it up once and for all? [Steve Toohey's response:] 'This is a long story, but in a nutshell, after 30 years at Aero, Will left that company. Why? Many reasons, one of which is he could no longer work in the environment in which he found himself.' "

https://www.denimhunters.com/2013/10/alexander-leathers/

In other words, WL "could no longer work in the environment" where he had been caught red-handed stealing from the company.
 

Capesofwrath

Practically Family
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about these pattern copyrighting. is it really possible or viable?

isn't it hard to paint a line between: plagiarism VS influenced by
since you said they have different pocket placements, that alone would already weaken the case

like 5 pockets jeans... how manufacturers would put a copyright on their pattern? while it is visibly different in silhouette when being worn, but on paper it is still just a 5 pockets jeans.

The patterns will be more about fit than design. You can’t copy a copy of an old design and be held accountable for it. Unless you copy it exactly and the replica has some individual features which you also copy. But most of the older Aero jackets are pretty much exact copies themselves. KC does dismantle old jackets to use as templates as all the makers do. But he would adapt the pattern for modern sizes rather than copy the pieces directly to a pattern. Some replica makers do use the jackets as patterns without any changes, and they don’t usually fit modern people very well.

For what it’s worth AL jackets don’t fit the same as Aeros. The older Aeros anyway. I can’t speak for Aero’s later designs which I think fit in a slimmer style. But classic post war type Aero jackets were always quite roomy, and ALs are slimmer in fit. For instance I’ve tried two or three Aero A2 jackets over a couple of years. Two ready made but one of which was made for me, and none of them fitted me very well and had to go back. The usual problem of being tight across the arnpits and a bit baggy in the waist. They seemed to me to be direct copies from dismantled originals and made to fit slim rangy war time types with high armpits.

I gave up on finding an A 2 to fit some time ago, but I was tempted by a bomber type jacket in the AL introductory offers. I thought it would fit in a roomier post war way but actually it was an A 2 pattern with hand warmer pockets added. But it wasn’t an Aero pattern. It was a completely different fit and very tight under the arms and very baggy and very long in the waist. A good fit for a chimpanzee and no use at all to me so it went back. But whoever made that pattern it wasn’t KC.
 
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garzo

One of the Regulars
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pilotChimp.jpg

It must have been a copy of an original Chimp Squadron A2.

They were a breed apart ...
 
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navetsea

I'll Lock Up
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6,851
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East Java
I think you are getting too caught up in the "artistic" side of the patterns, and while there is certainly some discussion to be had on stealing designs, it's less about where a certain pocket goes and more about how the jacket comes together dimensionally to give a certain "fit" and "feel."

Just think about all the work it's taken on the jackets you've designed to get the fit right, the sleeves rotated just right, etc... then do that for each different size jacket for each different design. They didn't have to do that... it was all done and sitting in front of them. If they wanted to modify then to their own design, they had most of the work already complete and just had to tweak the design.

so do they get both patterns from both companies of a same size, and then lay them on top of each other panel by panel in front of the court?
I see no other possible way to prove it other than that,
because to untrained eyes a jacket is more about small details like pockets, etc. rather then its fit or feel. I guess the judge since he/she should be neutral thus can't be a leather jacket aficionado, doesn't have eyes for these subtler things.
 

Sloan1874

I'll Lock Up
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8,425
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Expert witnesses carry out a deconstruction and examination of the jackets and give their opinion. Aero have had this done, and it was found that AL's size 38 Roadster pattern matches a 42 Highwayman exactly.
 
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Big J

Call Me a Cab
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2,961
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Japan
Expert witnesses carry out a deconstruction and examination of the jackets and give their opinion. Aero have had this done, and it was found that AL's size 38 Roadster pattern matches a 42 Highwayman exactly.

Expert witness? Like Stu from Lost Worlds? Or Gary Eastman?
 

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