I saw and ad a few days ago for a Fred Devine Fairy rod. Not super rare but not a rod you see for sale too often. Well apparently it was not a Devine rod, it was rod made by someone who claimed it he didn't like it after making it (red flag number one) and he was selling it for a couple of hundred dollars (red flag number two). I doubt this guy ever had a Devine rod in his hand and he probably got the tapers from a book or the internet or who knows where?
For me this is unethical and well, just plain wrong. A rod made by you is a rod made by you and should always be advertised as such. If the rod made by you is based on a classic taper then mention that in the features as a rod "based on the Payne Model 98". It is not nor will it ever be a Payne rod. A competent musician or painter can play a tune by The Beatles or paint a landscape in the style of Constable but, well, you get it.
The model name always remains the property of the maker or a current owner of a company. If your rods are any good why not sell them as your own. Did you hear about the pizza I invented, it has tomato sauce, cheese and.........................................