FC IoS Pics

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I started this as a new thread to separate the pics from the other thread about the legal/ethical issues.
If I were FC I would not offer any explanation to any concern phrased as an accusation or a demand.

We enjoy our kilts. And enjoy fussing a bit too.

Larry,

First, just a point to clarify. I'm not directing anything negative towards you individually. All you did was to post pics of your new kilt, and people have been giving their honest reaction to those pictures.

My criticism is not of you, but of a company that has denomstrated a blatant disregard for intellectual property rights.

I'm nearing the end of what I feel comfortable saying publically on this issue, but please understand that I'm not making accusations at random. And my issue is not against budget kilts, or Pakistani kilts, or acrylic kilts, or any of that. The issue here is respect for intellectual property rights and nothing else.

I suppose this is a pet peeve of mine. Maybe I have a different perspective because I am also a tartan designer, so I know the work that goes into it. Maybe it's because I know so many people in the tartan industry who are good people, and respectful of one other, even though they are competitors. It is a fact that most of the people involved in the tartan industry get along quite well, and would never willingly produce a proprietary tartan without obtaining permission from the copyright owner. In those cases I can recall where such has been done unwittingly, the situation was corrected as soon as it was brought to people's attention. In other words, most folks in the tartan industry are good people who try to be respectful of other's rights.

There has lately been a "dark side" to the tartan and Highland dress industry that has been surfacing, however. And that "dark side" seems more interested in making a buck than in honesty. Examples of what I mean:

--The recent influx of Asian made kilts whose labelling is designed to trick the consumer into believing the kilt to be a product of Scotland. (This is not a cheap-shot towards Asian produced goods, but simply a call for truth in advertising!) See:
http://kiltmaker.blogspot.com/2007/0...s-sta-for.html

--People trying to convince the consumer that their tartan has a provenance or legitimacy when it does not, as in the case of several "state tartans" designed for American states by a company in Scotland and promored as "state tartans" without the state's input or knowledge in the slightest!
http://kiltmaker.blogspot.com/2006/0...nc-and-sc.html

The production of well known, popular (and good selling) copyrighted tartan designs, proprietary to one company in Scotland, by mills in foreign countries where UK intellectual property right laws are not easily enforced, to take advantage of the popularity of these tartans, falls into this same category.

Frugal Corner actually dealt with this issue publically on this very forum last year, about the Pride of Scotland tartan. Like the Isle of Skye, this is a very popular tartan, but it is also a proprietary tartan of McColls of Aberdeen. At the time of that thread, McColls was attempting as much they could to curtail the widespread theft of their tartan design -- Ebay was (and still is, I suspect) full of cheap kilts in their tartan, made & sold without their knowledge. I saw the Pride of Scotland tartan on FC's web site, and brought up the copyright issue mainly as a friendly warning. FC was just getting started, so I assumed they didn't know, and was informing them so that they could remove it from their offerings. Their response on that thread was not very impressive. It boiled down to, "We're going to abide by laws that are enforceable in the US, and there's nothing saying we can't sell this tartan." That much is public record and still accessible in the forum archives.

Regarding the Isle of Skye, according to the information in the STA database, which is the most up-to-date information I have, the current companies liscensed by the copyright holder to produce this tartan are Lochcarron of Scotland and Marton Mills. The tartan is available in both wool and polyviscose cloth. You can get this tartan in a wool kilt from just about any kilt supplier. If you want something less expensive, the PV is available from USA Kilts and Canadian Casual Kilts. These are people in the business trying to make a living and doing things the right way and taking care to be respectful of other's rights -- even if they could probably get away with it otherwise and not get caught.

The Isle of Skye tartan seems to be one of people's favorites. The person who designed it, the companies who produce it and promote it, have all done a wonderful job. If you like the tartan, these people deserve to be rewarded and commended for their successful design -- not robbed and ripped off.

I will say this and then shut-up on the topic. If I am wrong, and Rosemary Samios, the lady on Skye who owns the copyright to the Isle of Skye tartan, has liscenced a mill in Pakistan to produce the tartan in acrylic, then I will be the first to apologize to anyone I've offended here. But I sincerely doubt that to be the case. In the meantime, I consider this an important issue and one that potential customers need to be aware of.

This is obviously something that I feel strongly about, so I'm sorry if I stepped on anyone's toes. I have tried to consider my words carefully before posting anything on this topic, and have even ran some of my thoughts by individual moderators before posting just to get an impartial view. I feel that nothing I have posted has been unwarranted. That being said, I am going to take a break from this topic for the time being. I've said my piece, Frugal Corner has had a chance to respond and chosen not to. People have all the information they need to make their own decision on the matter.

[andyfg]

I just checked on FC website. The IoS is now called "Bright Skye."

[RockyR]

Regarding the Isle of Skye, according to the information in the STA database, which is the most up-to-date information I have, the current companies liscensed by the copyright holder to produce this tartan are Lochcarron of Scotland and Marton Mills. The tartan is available in both wool and polyviscose cloth. You can get this tartan in a wool kilt from just about any kilt supplier. If you want something less expensive, the PV is available from USA Kilts and Canadian Casual Kilts. These are people in the business trying to make a living and doing things the right way and taking care to be respectful of other's rights -- even if they could probably get away with it otherwise and not get caught.

Small point of clarification:

MM produces the Isle of Skye in 13 and 16 oz wool (with a 2 GBP / M surcharge for the Private tartan... as they should). They DON'T produce it in PV as part of their "stock range" to my knowledge (believe me... I'd have it in PV if they did). They did a special run for CCK and to the best of my knowledge, HE PAID a royalty to have it done in PV.

Drawing a parallel... the US Navy and US Army tartans are BOTH OWNED by Strathmore (and Alexis Malcolm). When USA Kilts had them woven in PV, we paid Strathmore a royalty to weave them. There's another "pricepoint kilt company" out there (won't name them, but you can easily figure it out) who has BOTH of those tartans in their Cotton Poly blend and are made in the US (I believe). I checked with Strathmore... they DID NOT get permission to have them woven, although they are "stock tartans" in their line. Is it right that they do this? No. Am I going to do it the "wrong way" b/c someone else did? No... I paid the royalty.

The point I made before and Matt made (I believe)... It's nothing against WHERE the kilts are made, just that they follow the guidelines set in place by the industry they are MAKING A LIVING FROM. It doesn't cost THAT much for a company to obtain rights (or design your OWN tartan) and it keeps you off of "questionable ethical ground".

Jerry at SWK has the rights to produce the Irish National kilts in Pakistan. Has anyone brought him up? No. Why? He is making sure that the people who own the tartan are involved and have given him approval. That's all that has to be done to keep everyone happy.

Here's the US copyright website. It clarifies LOTS of issues that we're talking about here:

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ40.html



ALL THIS being said, I again agree with Matt... It's obviously a "hot button issue" here and it looks like we've all stated our cases and can at least "agree to disagree". I'll bow out of the conversation as well as I think I've stated my point relatively clearly. At this point, its horsepaste as Kelly would call it (the "dead horse" has been beaten so much it's now just paste). Each of us are individuals and can make up our own mind on this issue with the facts given.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

[Coemgen]

I just checked on FC website. The IoS is now called "Bright Skye."

Guess they must be getting lots of e-mails. At least they're listening to the e-mail now (sorry, that was a bit below the belt).

[Riverkilt]

I bought an Isle of Skye Lochcarron necktie at the highland games this weekend (Sorry Ham, couldn't resist).

When I got it home there was a not on the back of the hang card that says,

"This beautiful tartan was instigated and registered by Mrs. Rosemary Nicholson Samios in 1992, an Australian of Skye descent, now living in Skye. It was selected through a worldwide competition won by Angus MacLeod from Lewis. Angus, a weaver by trade, produced the first commercial quantities in traditonal kilt weight in 1993 at Lochcarron Weavers in North Strome, within view of the Cuillin Mountains. The colours of the tartan depict those of the island, often called "The Misty Isle". Mrs Samios controls the rights to the production of this "Isle of Skye" district tartan through registration with the Patents Office and Lochcarron of Scotland has been appointed as the supplier of fabrics and woven accessories in this tartan."

Pretty straightforward.

Ron

[DireStraitsFan]

Wow. The outdoor pictures of that kilt are very bright. That's really not something I would want to wear, but then I have never understood why IOS is the darling of this forum in the first place.