Help me find a replica Eames desk?
October 22, 2011 2:27 PM Subscribe
Any ideas where I can get a replica Eames Desk Unit for less than $1399? I've had good luck with finding replica mid-century modern furniture, as it just begs to be reproduced (molded plastics, simple materials). For some reason desks are several times harder to come by.
The exact Eames replicas are so expensive because the design is still the intellectual property of the Herman Miller company.
Modern Wood Works has another similar desk, ~$700.
posted by gorillawarfare at 3:39 PM on October 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
Modern Wood Works has another similar desk, ~$700.
posted by gorillawarfare at 3:39 PM on October 22, 2011 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: The exact Eames replicas are so expensive because the design is still the intellectual property of the Herman Miller company.
When does IP on furniture expire? These desk is 62 years old.
posted by geoff. at 3:57 PM on October 22, 2011
When does IP on furniture expire? These desk is 62 years old.
posted by geoff. at 3:57 PM on October 22, 2011
When does IP on furniture expire?
I already spent a little while trying to find out the answer to that, since I also expected that this furniture was designed long enough ago that it was unlikely to be protected. IANAL, this is just my lay understanding from a little searching on the subject.
It seems like the designs are currently protected under "trade dress", which protects design characteristics which signal to consumers the "origin, sponsorship, or approval" of the goods. As far as I can tell, trade dress protection has no fixed expiration, and will last as long as the distinctive styling/packaging continues to signal to consumers that what they're buying comes from or is approved by the original source. So as long as Herman Miller goes after companies making knockoffs, preventing the dilution of the Eames look, they could be the sole manufacturers forever.
[Sources: Herman Miller claim; wikipedia on trade dress; a more descriptive article by an IP lawyer]
posted by gorillawarfare at 4:18 PM on October 22, 2011
I already spent a little while trying to find out the answer to that, since I also expected that this furniture was designed long enough ago that it was unlikely to be protected. IANAL, this is just my lay understanding from a little searching on the subject.
It seems like the designs are currently protected under "trade dress", which protects design characteristics which signal to consumers the "origin, sponsorship, or approval" of the goods. As far as I can tell, trade dress protection has no fixed expiration, and will last as long as the distinctive styling/packaging continues to signal to consumers that what they're buying comes from or is approved by the original source. So as long as Herman Miller goes after companies making knockoffs, preventing the dilution of the Eames look, they could be the sole manufacturers forever.
[Sources: Herman Miller claim; wikipedia on trade dress; a more descriptive article by an IP lawyer]
posted by gorillawarfare at 4:18 PM on October 22, 2011
"Herman Miller"+"Eames"? oh, honey, you're talking about crack cocaine. ain't no dealer gonna give you a discount. sorry. (I have the same addiction, btw...you can try scouring the antique stores and craigslist, but 5 minutes after they get it in, it goes right back out the door...)
posted by sexyrobot at 4:24 PM on October 22, 2011
posted by sexyrobot at 4:24 PM on October 22, 2011
Response by poster: (I have the same addiction, btw...you can try scouring the antique stores and craigslist, but 5 minutes after they get it in, it goes right back out the door...)
You can actually get things like chairs, sofas or coffee tables fairly easily by just searching. Usually they sell for a fraction of the price and I've had good experience with quality.
posted by geoff. at 4:39 PM on October 22, 2011
You can actually get things like chairs, sofas or coffee tables fairly easily by just searching. Usually they sell for a fraction of the price and I've had good experience with quality.
posted by geoff. at 4:39 PM on October 22, 2011
Response by poster: Such as my last Eames related question from several years ago.
posted by geoff. at 4:40 PM on October 22, 2011
posted by geoff. at 4:40 PM on October 22, 2011
How handy are you? Curbly.com had a $10 PDF for sale a while back for making your own knockoff Eames storage units (credenza, really) from stuff you can get at your local hardware store. The desk should be just a variation of that. I seem to recall that the step for painting the MDF actually pointed you to a PDF you had to buy separately, which I thought was lame.
posted by kimota at 5:37 PM on October 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by kimota at 5:37 PM on October 22, 2011 [1 favorite]
I meant to specify that I think the secondary PDF is about half the price, so it's not gougingly expensive, just lame. The other link I had in the back of my mind for customized replicas was the Modern Wood Works one gorillawarfare linked to above.
posted by kimota at 5:41 PM on October 22, 2011
posted by kimota at 5:41 PM on October 22, 2011
Response by poster: I ended up going with another desk.
posted by geoff. at 9:09 AM on November 23, 2011
posted by geoff. at 9:09 AM on November 23, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
http://modernica.net/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=26
posted by katinka-katinka at 3:25 PM on October 22, 2011