[IC] GMK Retrowave [GB August 1]

[swizzley]

yes please!

[GMK_Andy]

The name of this set was never “GMK Retro” the name of this set was “GMK Retrowave” since the IC started. What’s the problem?

  It seems this was an attempt to rename the set, was just making sure to clarify this is not a name that is available as the set does exist.

We do generally try to look at names of sets from other manufacturers as well. So many designers are crossing over sets and rerunning in different profiles/manufacturers that it's certainly best practice just to try to keep names from overlapping to avoid confusion.

[Havattack]

Oh happy day =] hopefully we can get this shipped out winter 2022.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It would have for sure, if GMK had not pulled this nonsense, and put a set on "hold" for no legitimate reason. At least they had enough integrity to apologize for this fiasco....oh... wait... never-mind.

[hottnucks]

@SwitchKeys Why was the set renamed to “Retro” from “Retrowave”?

[Whiplash_XXIII]

All right, enough. Just get it together GMK. The last thing i want to do is have to boycott the most popular key company in the community.

I see you edited and entirely changed your message to something less hateful.

Personally I am mostly tired of seeing the same messages from you in every retrowave, synthwave, vaporwave thread.
I think you made your point and your stance very clear on how you feel.

But I doubt you posting your feelings on the matter every week will change anything and maybe this IC thread is not the best place to do it.
I'm sure GMK has an email you can reach them at.

Hopefully we will get an update on Retrowave soon 

I feel ya!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pluto19]

@SwitchKeys Why was the set renamed to “Retro” from “Retrowave”?

Maybe we'll find out why once this is updated... hopefully along with a bunch of other insights doubt

[SwitchKeys]

Hi everyone,
First off I wanted to thank everyones patience in between major updates. As you can imagine, there has been a lot to take in and the backwards-and-forwards is not always so timely when everyone tends to operate in different time zones.

Before I begin, I wanted to firstly show thanks in particular to the following people:

• Andy from GMK: Thanks so much for working through this with us. The late night video chats and Discord messages. I'm glad we could work forward and get this happpening
• OneCreativeMind: This set would not have been possible without your endless patience. Going to and fro with amendments to novelties and coming up with that absolute banger of a second deskmat. Love you man
• Nathan: Bro I can't begin to even know where to start. From the initial concept, the infinite kitting revisions and adjustments you've been by my side since the beginning so thanks brother.

Now, I'll move straight into the elephant in the room. You'll notice we've made some changes to the novelties in the kit. We had to adjust some for tooling tolerances, but obviously the big omission is the absence of the sun. After extensive talks with all parties (GMK, MiTo, Drop, ProtoTypist, OneCreativeMind) sadly we could not come to a mutual agreement regarding using the sun as is. We tried revisions, rotations etc but it detracted from what we set it out to be. For this reason, we have omitted it from the base kit on our own accord. It will however remain as is in the form of the Rama.

I won't speak on behalf of Andy, nor of GMK for any specifics regarding this as it is not my place. I'd also request we keep the IC on topic and focus on Retrowave as we are excited to be submitting these for quotation immediately. Discussion is fine, but inflammatory comments do not achieve anything.

Why the name change? It's back baby. I had a bit of a misunderstanding on my end re the naming of this set, and ended up making it temporarily worse.

*EDIT* Some of the thumbnail previews are a little jank. I will correct but enlarge them for proper res.

[yoniwolf1202]

WAHOOOOO

[rivals]

Glad to see that the Rama novelty is still there, it's so good.

[Havattack]

Really cool. So happy. Ya.

I'll never understand why Mito or Drop had any say with anything. Mito/drop stole that symbol from a preexisting community.  At least we now know the rumors were true.
 I'm off to start  my anti gmk/drop/mito campaign.

[doggo1dance]

can someone enlighten me on this? Why does MiTo even have exclusive rights to the sun symbol when it has already been existed since before he started using it? Stealing it and making it as his own, what a scummy thing to do tbh

[mr_foggy]

so I'll be getting this set in 2023 because some big player in the community demands property rights on a stolen design and delayed the IC phase for months. cool thanks for the customer service.

all in all I'm happy that it's moving forward anyway. I hope the ramas survive until GB because I'm copping both before it's too late.

[riku12smasher]

followed this ic for MONTHS lurking just to be greeted with this ****.

just 1 question tho, why the **** are you discussing with them on the design symbol? what gives them the ****ing right to own that sun design? i have been in this hobby since early 2013 and have never ever seen this sun logo being a property of someone elses other than the general community that have designed them.

you can count me out of this ****hole honestly

[elmo]

So all those rumors and suspicions were true in the end.
Even though Andy tried to hide it.

Mito/Drop do claim ownership of a symbol that they never created.

How is this even legal?

But thanks anyways. At least now I know who I will avoid from now on in this hobby...

[nvh2092]

So all those rumors and suspicions were true in the end.
Even though Andy tried to hide it.

Mito/Drop does claim ownership of a symbol that they never created.

How is this even legal?

But thanks anyways. At least now I know who I will avoid from now on in this hobby...

+1

[andreiborisov]

Whatever, I was going to buy RAMA anyway Can’t wait for the GB!

Do you have any rough estimate in mind when it’s going to run now?

[elmo]

https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vectors/retrowave-sun-vectors

all belongs to Mito now just so you know...

[saltimate]

https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vectors/retrowave-sun-vectors

all belongs to Mito now just so you know...

Show Image

lol, so much this...



also @SK,
ALTERNATIVELY ditch the gmk relationship, change/redesign this set for jtk triple shot and keep the sun novelty and deskmat.
you KNOW triple shot for this set would be fire, and sounds like gmk would rather suck mitos d!ck anyway.

if gmk wants to join the mito/drop circlejerk then fukem, boycot gmk. be done with that sh!t.

[treeleaf64]

Mods blind the treeleaf in the
Blaze of pink and yellow

[iShibe]

Been watching this set since i was a lurker, and since i first got into custom keebs. Seriously, this set is like a dream come true. I need it, and every bit! 

[meenacraft]

Pretty disappointed in GMK for letting Drop/Mito act like this. They absolutely do not in any shape way or form own that sun logo and its insane they even got involved and delayed this set over it.

[mizuwolf]

honestly, I'm pretty infuriated Mito thinks he can claim the vaporwave sun as belonging to him when it's a design that has existed for ages. I cannot imagine GMK entertaining this nonsense. At this point, I'm pretty set on never buying another gmk set again because of their horrific decisions lately when it comes to BS like this. Might grab this RAMA just to rub salt in the wound (because it's gorgeous)

[elcore9]

I cannot believe how much of a man-child Mito is and that GMK and Drop actually forced you guys to remove the sun. It's an iconic image that sure as hell isn't owned by Mito or Drop. So sorry to hear about the news. I hope this set does well, it's better than anything Mito could ever hope to design.

[darthcapn]

Akko uses the sun image as a background to their "NEON" keycap set on their epomaker website. Lol.

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

[ShenKichin]

Mito? More like MiNo because this guy gets No *****es.

Honestly we should just start dropping GMK. Are people really willing to take **** from a company that has a year long backlog? Do they think that they're Ferrari or something? There are plenty of other keycap options.

[Havattack]

I too support changing manufacturers if you guys (SK) cares to. And as I all ready said, I am definitely down for boycotting GMK. and especially Mito/drop/ I can not believe i bought 3 of his sets from that garbage company... and their such good sets too... Oh well, i can like the music, and still hate the artist- so to speak.

Oh, and anyone who wants Laser, just buy the chinese knock off version. I imagine i'll be saying that a lot..

[ダbruh]

damn now the vaporwave/retrowave/outrun sun is considered IP? I can't wait for the day that I look up to the sky and say thx drop/mito for this beautiful sun

[sevenseacat]

Glad to see the set is back up and running.

Very disappointed in whoever has refused access to the sun in the set (but has allowed it for the Ramas?)

[rchan00x]

Glad to see the set is back up and running.

Very disappointed in whoever has refused access to the sun in the set (but has allowed it for the Ramas?)

That's the "funny" part. The image is public domain. Drop/Mito do not hold ANY actual rights to the outrun sun image in the real world.

GMK just bent the knee to Drop/Mito and decreed that no other set run through GMK can use it.

RAMA, and anyone else, is free to use that image however and whenever they'd like.

[Woovie]

So all those rumors and suspicions were true in the end.
Even though Andy tried to hide it.

Mito/Drop do claim ownership of a symbol that they never created.

How is this even legal?

But thanks anyways. At least now I know who I will avoid from now on in this hobby...

+1

**** MiTo, **** Drop, **** GMK for bowing to them.

[nasp]

It would be great if OP (or even the other parties involved) said why the retro sun had to be changed. Because it really does read that Drop/Mito forced the change.

[SwitchKeys]

It would be great if OP (or even the other parties involved) said why the retro sun had to be changed. Because it really does read that Drop/Mito forced the change.

Well, not really. I was pretty clear in my update that there were multiple parties involved in the affected key. I didn’t point the finger at any one entity and I’ve tried to be as transparent as possible that the option was presented to modify it or remove it.

Whether or not MiTo owns the vaporwave sun is not the issue at hand. MiTo owns the mold for it, and permission was not granted for us to use it as we had designed it.

At the same time, we couldn’t modify it within GMKs tolerances and all variations we experimented with detracted from what the icon should represent. Therefore the decision was made by Jae and I to remove it from the set.

Again, I want to reinforce how much time was spent musing with OCM (And indeed Andy from GMK who literally took my phone call at 3am) about what we could do with it.

Like I said, it’s not my place to speak on behalf of GMK - I am just trying to present the facts relevant to Retrowave. The novelty disappeared, it would be pretty disingenuous to just simply pretend it was never there in the first place.

[Havattack]

nevermind

[GMK_Andy]

It would be great if OP (or even the other parties involved) said why the retro sun had to be changed. Because it really does read that Drop/Mito forced the change.

To put it simply, custom legends aren't publicly available. This is how it works for our industrial clients as well as our community ones. Someone has paid for that legend out of pocket, and therefore in our books that is their legend. This has always been the case, and will continue to be the case. Obviously these legends may be inspired by content elsewhere, but the fact remains that if someone translated an icon, such as the "sun", to a GMK legend first then they have the rights to it as they paid for it. I have given suggestions for changing the Sun to be a new novelty (palm tree in front, sideways, etc) but the final call on the direction here would be up to the designer.

For me, as someone with a background in music, this is like making a song out of a few very common chords, let's say Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 A7. Then say we throw a lead part playing with a Dmin scale on top. Give these chords and scales to 10 different artists, you'll get 10 different things, even though they are using the same 5 ingredients. And after an artist makes something out of these pieces, that are all publicly available, it becomes their own. Our keycaps are no different. Everyone is welcome to take on the theme with their overlapping similarities, but you can't make something exactly the same. And in this case the "sun" novelty has already been created. If the "sun" was publicly available, every vendors novelties would have to become publicly available, and protecting that IP for each and all of our vendors is something we intend to continue to do.

This is also the reason that we generally invest in new language molds, so that nobody is paying for them and that they are open for all to use. I should point out that MiTo has created the molds for many languages, including the ones this set uses, that are freely available for community use.

[Whiplash_XXIII]

Honestly could care less about the sun and drama. It’s a little drawn out and kind of silly how so many are bringing their pitchforks out over a single novelty. First world problems I guess lol. Just pumped for this to go into play.

Second deskmat is awesome btw!

[rchan00x]

Honestly could care less about the sun and drama. It’s a little drawn out and kind of silly how so many are bringing their pitchforks out over a single novelty. First world problems I guess lol. Just pumped for this to go into play.

Second deskmat is awesome btw!

That's a very superficial reading of why people were actually upset here. It wasn't about a single novelty. It's about what we perceived as a larger vendor/designer trying to assert ownership over a public image and then strong arming a smaller vendor/designer into changing their vision for their set.

But I agree with the rest. Its great to finally see this set back on track and, their second deskmat really is lit. 

[doggo1dance]

Honestly could care less about the sun and drama. It’s a little drawn out and kind of silly how so many are bringing their pitchforks out over a single novelty. First world problems I guess lol. Just pumped for this to go into play.

Second deskmat is awesome btw!

you just missed the whole point lmaoo, really please dont comment anything if you're gonna brush it off like its nothing, especially when you dont know nor care about what is actually happening in this thread.

[Whiplash_XXIII]

Honestly could care less about the sun and drama. It’s a little drawn out and kind of silly how so many are bringing their pitchforks out over a single novelty. First world problems I guess lol. Just pumped for this to go into play.

Second deskmat is awesome btw!

you just missed the whole point lmaoo, really please dont comment anything if you're gonna brush it off like its nothing, especially when you dont know nor care about what is actually happening in this thread.

Like I said, just pumped this colorway is good to go again, could care less otherwise lol

[elmo]

It would be great if OP (or even the other parties involved) said why the retro sun had to be changed. Because it really does read that Drop/Mito forced the change.

To put it simply, custom legends aren't publicly available. This is how it works for our industrial clients as well as our community ones. Someone has paid for that legend out of pocket, and therefore in our books that is their legend. This has always been the case, and will continue to be the case. Obviously these legends may be inspired by content elsewhere, but the fact remains that if someone translated an icon, such as the "sun", to a GMK legend first then they have the rights to it as they paid for it. I have given suggestions for changing the Sun to be a new novelty (palm tree in front, sideways, etc) but the final call on the direction here would be up to the designer.

For me, as someone with a background in music, this is like making a song out of a few very common chords, let's say Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 A7. Then say we throw a lead part playing with a Dmin scale on top. Give these chords and scales to 10 different artists, you'll get 10 different things, even though they are using the same 5 ingredients. And after an artist makes something out of these pieces, that are all publicly available, it becomes their own. Our keycaps are no different. Everyone is welcome to take on the theme with their overlapping similarities, but you can't make something exactly the same. And in this case the "sun" novelty has already been created. If the "sun" was publicly available, every vendors novelties would have to become publicly available, and protecting that IP for each and all of our vendors is something we intend to continue to do.

This is also the reason that we generally invest in new language molds, so that nobody is paying for them and that they are open for all to use. I should point out that MiTo has created the molds for many languages, including the ones this set uses, that are freely available for community use.

This sounds reasonable. At first.
But there's one issue if you look at how GMK handled things like this in the past.

Why can't they just buy a new mold with that legend? It wouldn't be owned by Mito/Drop then.

And please don't say "that's not possible" now. Because it is.
GMK did exactly this with the new "community" Katakana molds.

Because Energieschleuder didn't want other people to use his Katakana molds (the ones that were used for Masterpiece) GMK just made new ones.
Guess for who?
Right. For Mito.
Because he was just able to pay for new molds. Even though they look exactly the same like the ones from Masterpiece.
But since they aren't the same molds he can use them now without having to ask for permission from Energieschleuder.

Please. Just stop pretending you don't play favors with Drop and Mito. It's just too obvious.

[mr_foggy]

you just missed the whole point lmaoo, really please dont comment anything if you're gonna brush it off like its nothing, especially when you dont know nor care about what is actually happening in this thread.

+1

I can not believe i bought 3 of his sets from that garbage company...
Oh, and anyone who wants Laser, just buy the chinese knock off version. I imagine i'll be saying that a lot..

never did and never will. typing on the akko neons right now and they've never felt as good.

in the meantime I found on instagram that MiTo is designing a Genshin Impact themed set through DROP LMFAOOOOOO
just sit and watch that set go through the IP checks unscathed 

[elmo]

in the meantime I found on instagram that MiTo is designing a Genshin Impact themed set through DROP LMFAOOOOOO
just sit and watch that set go through the IP checks unscathed 

this so much lmao

[Jo_hannes]

To put it simply, custom legends aren't publicly available. This is how it works for our industrial clients as well as our community ones. Someone has paid for that legend out of pocket, and therefore in our books that is their legend. This has always been the case, and will continue to be the case. Obviously these legends may be inspired by content elsewhere, but the fact remains that if someone translated an icon, such as the "sun", to a GMK legend first then they have the rights to it as they paid for it. I have given suggestions for changing the Sun to be a new novelty (palm tree in front, sideways, etc) but the final call on the direction here would be up to the designer.

Well, I have to say I understand the overall issue now. Still really, really unfotunate for MiTo to now allow for the usage of the mold in this instance, but I guess this at least makes clear that GMK is not at fault here. As there will be lot's of people getting the RAMAs now, just please make sure to keep them affordable through a very high MOQ.

The issue there is maybe more fundamental: Should people be allowed to "buy" images in the public domain and be able to make it exclusive to themselves on the medium that is GMK keycaps. When reflecting on that, the music-simile does not really hold. This is not a remix, it is a 1:1 representation of an existing song to which the author is unknown, and said song becomes exclusive to a certain medium by someone paying to put it there first.
So, I feel that GMK and this field of business have reached a point where that is not really a sustainable way of doing business any more. I mean, self-designed novelties should of course remain with the designers, but novelties that are identical to images in the public domain should, if deemed worthwhile, be paid for by GMK to be available to all keyset designers. This sun in question here is such broadly-used iconography that the current system leading to it being locked to the whims of one keyset designer should make the responsible parties rethink the system as such, not just its impact on the design of this particular set.

Best,
Johannes

P.S. In the meantime, Elmo posted his considerations regarding the Katakana molds, which renders my point kind of mute because I assumed that GMK is consistent in its application of "the rules". If it is not, then there is no point to my argument.

[doggo1dance]

you just missed the whole point lmaoo, really please dont comment anything if you're gonna brush it off like its nothing, especially when you dont know nor care about what is actually happening in this thread.

+1

I can not believe i bought 3 of his sets from that garbage company...
Oh, and anyone who wants Laser, just buy the chinese knock off version. I imagine i'll be saying that a lot..

never did and never will. typing on the akko neons right now and they've never felt as good.

in the meantime I found on instagram that MiTo is designing a Genshin Impact themed set through DROP LMFAOOOOOO
just sit and watch that set go through the IP checks unscathed 

MiTo is really just gonna get away with anything huh, thats just sad honestly

[andreiborisov]

It seems like a lot of people are new here, because that is how custom molds worked from the beginning of time for GMK.

Why wouldn’t you be able to pay and make the second mold with the same legend is a bit strange though (in case if the image itself in a public domain).

[BlindAssassin111]

It would be great if OP (or even the other parties involved) said why the retro sun had to be changed. Because it really does read that Drop/Mito forced the change.

To put it simply, custom legends aren't publicly available. This is how it works for our industrial clients as well as our community ones. Someone has paid for that legend out of pocket, and therefore in our books that is their legend. This has always been the case, and will continue to be the case. Obviously these legends may be inspired by content elsewhere, but the fact remains that if someone translated an icon, such as the "sun", to a GMK legend first then they have the rights to it as they paid for it. I have given suggestions for changing the Sun to be a new novelty (palm tree in front, sideways, etc) but the final call on the direction here would be up to the designer.

For me, as someone with a background in music, this is like making a song out of a few very common chords, let's say Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 A7. Then say we throw a lead part playing with a Dmin scale on top. Give these chords and scales to 10 different artists, you'll get 10 different things, even though they are using the same 5 ingredients. And after an artist makes something out of these pieces, that are all publicly available, it becomes their own. Our keycaps are no different. Everyone is welcome to take on the theme with their overlapping similarities, but you can't make something exactly the same. And in this case the "sun" novelty has already been created. If the "sun" was publicly available, every vendors novelties would have to become publicly available, and protecting that IP for each and all of our vendors is something we intend to continue to do.

This is also the reason that we generally invest in new language molds, so that nobody is paying for them and that they are open for all to use. I should point out that MiTo has created the molds for many languages, including the ones this set uses, that are freely available for community use.

So you are giving IP rights without having the legal right to do so? That isn't how IP works. You do not get to decide who owns something in the public domain outright because they paid you for a mold to be made.

Does that person own said mold? Yes. Does said person now own the public domain art? No. So by blocking the creation of a similar mold using said public domain art (or variations of said art) you are giving rights without the legal authority to do so.

Your strawman argument of "every vendors novelties would have to become publicly available" is bull**** and you know it. That isn't at all what would need to happen as there are a ton of designs that are not in the public domain and therefore no reason to make them publicly available or allow similar variations given the art isn't owned by any party. Mold ownership does not equal ownership of said art, they are separate rights do not equate them as one and gatekeep for the sake of making one customer have a monopoly on something they themselves do not have the rights to.

If this was about an original novelty design it would be understandable to block (which it isn't in this case), but that doesn't mean all situations are like this and you as a manufacturer have to understand when someone owns the rights to something and when they don't.

This seems more so like getting caught and making an excuse later but it just being nonsense to distract from what is really happening. This sets a precedent for using all public domain art and squatting on it to prevent any future use because y'all fail to understand what your actions actually mean. Hopefully you learn from this and stop with the bull**** arguments. This isn't about a retrowave sun novelty anymore as you decided to take it beyond that and give out legal rights without the authority and that is crossing the line.

[chanchan]

mans out here patenting the sun

[JKKEEBS]

Love the rama

[Rumblethumps]

I'm trying really hard to stay subjective and not make assumptions about the situation based on what's been said here, since nothing's been confirmed and the "affected parties" haven't been specifically named. I'm sure that SK and the other "affected parties" involved are handling their own business as best they can.

...But that being said, it sucks that it had to happen with such a cool set. (or ANY set, really.) Honestly the whole thing has made me iffy about GMK.

Anyway, glad to see that the project is continuing despite it all. Excellent work SK, best of luck getting to GB!

[andreiborisov]

It would be great if OP (or even the other parties involved) said why the retro sun had to be changed. Because it really does read that Drop/Mito forced the change.

To put it simply, custom legends aren't publicly available. This is how it works for our industrial clients as well as our community ones. Someone has paid for that legend out of pocket, and therefore in our books that is their legend. This has always been the case, and will continue to be the case. Obviously these legends may be inspired by content elsewhere, but the fact remains that if someone translated an icon, such as the "sun", to a GMK legend first then they have the rights to it as they paid for it. I have given suggestions for changing the Sun to be a new novelty (palm tree in front, sideways, etc) but the final call on the direction here would be up to the designer.

For me, as someone with a background in music, this is like making a song out of a few very common chords, let's say Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 A7. Then say we throw a lead part playing with a Dmin scale on top. Give these chords and scales to 10 different artists, you'll get 10 different things, even though they are using the same 5 ingredients. And after an artist makes something out of these pieces, that are all publicly available, it becomes their own. Our keycaps are no different. Everyone is welcome to take on the theme with their overlapping similarities, but you can't make something exactly the same. And in this case the "sun" novelty has already been created. If the "sun" was publicly available, every vendors novelties would have to become publicly available, and protecting that IP for each and all of our vendors is something we intend to continue to do.

This is also the reason that we generally invest in new language molds, so that nobody is paying for them and that they are open for all to use. I should point out that MiTo has created the molds for many languages, including the ones this set uses, that are freely available for community use.

So you are giving IP rights without having the legal right to do so? That isn't how IP works. You do not get to decide who owns something in the public domain outright because they paid you for a mold to be made.

Does that person own said mold? Yes. Does said person now own the public domain art? No. So by blocking the creation of a similar mold using said public domain art (or variations of said art) you are giving rights without the legal authority to do so.

Your strawman argument of "every vendors novelties would have to become publicly available" is bull**** and you know it. That isn't at all what would need to happen as there are a ton of designs that are not in the public domain and therefore no reason to make them publicly available or allow similar variations given the art isn't owned by any party. Mold ownership does not equal ownership of said art, they are separate rights do not equate them as one and gatekeep for the sake of making one customer have a monopoly on something they themselves do not have the rights to.

If this was about an original novelty design it would be understandable to block (which it isn't in this case), but that doesn't mean all situations are like this and you as a manufacturer have to understand when someone owns the rights to something and when they don't.

This seems more so like getting caught and making an excuse later but it just being nonsense to distract from what is really happening. This sets a precedent for using all public domain art and squatting on it to prevent any future use because y'all fail to understand what your actions actually mean. Hopefully you learn from this and stop with the bull**** arguments. This isn't about a retrowave sun novelty anymore as you decided to take it beyond that and give out legal rights without the authority and that is crossing the line.

You’re quite right, but I think your point of view is a bit shortsighted.

This policy allows designers to have a level of confidence that no one will copy their work without their explicit permission. No current designer to my knowledge has the means or resources to trademark their sets and designs. I’m not sure you can even do that for such simple imagery (if someone with an education in legal field wants to chime in, I would be interested to hear their take).

So without this policy, designing keycaps will require a lot more investment and legal knowledge, which in turn will lead to less cool sets available.

Is this policy too simplistic? Yes, perhaps it should be revisited, but going with pitchforks for GMK is childish and unreasonable IMO.

[mrpetrov]

With no disrespect to Andy, who I appreciate liaising with everyone on this - but I think gatekeeping public domain art through the separate act of making a mold of it passes neither the legal nor the smell test.  I would support a reexamination of this GMK policy. 

Allow people to pay for their own molds of public domain art regardless of whether someone had already done (and paid for) their own molds of the public domain art in question.

P.