] Defense contractors are shaking down model airplane and
] tank makers for punishing royalties on their model kits.
] One result is that kit makers are switching to WWI models
] and to models of enemy armaments. Nice going, defense
] contractors, you took our tax dollars and used them to
] rid the market of all military toys except Nazi tanks and
] planes.

[ Nice. Don't miss, further down on the bb main page, this story :
"The Eiffel Tower's likeness had long since been part of the public domain, when in 2003, it was abruptly repossessed by the city of Paris. That's the year that the SNTE, the company charged with maintaining the tower, adorned it with a distinctive lighting display, copyrighted the design, and in one feel swoop, reclaimed the nighttime image and likeness of the most popular monument on earth. In short: they changed the actual likeness of the tower, and then copyrighted that."

Super. -k]

Boing Boing: Defense contractors demand royalties on model plane and tank kits