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Holy friggin crap, this is sweet...not mine!!!

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Tiger-Heli:

--- Quote from: ElGwako on May 13, 2006, 08:54:09 pm ---you build everything(deck, wheels, handle) except the motor. You buy a B&S but don't like the compression so you break it all down to the bare block and machine yourself ALL new parts but use the same block. Put it all together and slap a Tiger-Heli label on it.
It's no longer a briggs and stratton motor but it is their engineered block.

--- End quote ---
I finally figured out where the illegality comes in.  The block itself is B&S intellectual property, so if you modify the internals, but keep the external block, it becomes IP theft or copyright infringement.  BTW, you don't even have to keep the B&S block, if you machined all new parts and created an EXACT DUPLICATE of the B&S block and slapped a Tiger-Heli sticker on it (or probably even left the B&S sticker on it, at this point), you would still be in trouble b/c it was B&S' original design.

(Actually, it doesn't have to be an exact duplicate, as long as the design is similar, but at that point T-H and B&S lawyers would be fighting it out  :D)

What I don't know if what circumstances this applies and when it doesn't.  For example, JEGS sells 350 Chevy heads and pistons.  They probably have crate motors with these parts (either rebuilt original GM motors, or new from GM, or made to match GM specs).  Are these legal on their own merit, or did they get GM's permission before they made them, or GM just decided not to pursue their IP rights?

ElGwako:

--- Quote from: Tiger-Heli on May 13, 2006, 10:44:14 pm ---What I don't know if what circumstances this applies and when it doesn't. 
--- End quote ---

good question ,not sure on that one. Those are aftermarket heads, pistons, etc..
 The heads they sell are different than stock but machined to fit on the block. I'm not sure about the legality of building something "similar" in design. Its not like Jegs is casting an exact replica of the stock heads and installing different pistons and such. They actually cast their own design to fit and actually have different specs. Something has to be different about it in some small way i think.

Tiger-Heli:
Thought of a better example - that more people on here can relate to.  I will try to speak vaguely so I don't get anyone in trouble  >:D , but the board regulars will know what I am talking about and can read between the lines, and the others can do some research.

Let's look at "above-panel switchable 4/8-way joysticks".  And I am thinking of three different products from two different vendors.

All of these are based on an existing product and modified by the vendor.  I suspect either the vendor got permission from the original manufacturer to modify and sell their product, or the original manufacturer doesn't care as they are still selling one joystick for each modified joystick that the vendor sells.

Now -

Lets say that the vendor develops a custom handle (which one of them has), different microswitches (which one of them has), different return mechanism (which both of them have).  At this point, all that really remains of the basic stick is the base and possibly the actuator.  Can the vendor now (legally?) have these parts manufactured for a lower cost by a third party company in China?  (If not, how much do they have to change the design before they can have it produced by a different company?)

As a different example, let's suppose one of these sticks is based on the Happ Perfect 360 joystick (none of the current ones actually are, btw).  I can see four scenarios:

The vendor markets the sticks as "based on the Happ P360 design" and the stick performs well.  Legal or not, Happ is unlikely to complain, b/c they may still be selling the stick to the vendor, people that may want the stick but want a lower cost option may buy the Happ instead.  And if they take legal action to shut down sales by the vendor, he might partner with a different supplier, costing them sales to both referral customers and the vendor.

The vendor markets the sticks as "my own design" and the stick performs well.  Legal or not, Happ may complain or not, for reasons above.  Hard to say. . .

The vendor markets the sticks as "my own design" and the stick performs poorly.  Happ likely would not complain until some user or website figures out that the stick is in fact based on the P360 and the negative publicity starts affecting them.

The vendor markets the sticks as "based on the Happ 360" and the stick performs poorly.  You would probably see legal action as Happ wants to preserve the reputation of the P360's.

Just random musings . . .

RayB:
I think this exact same thread repeats itself at least once every 4 months...

The guy is a sleaze bag. He says things like

"I had one of these forever in my dorm room and made alot of money charging people to play it , people can't get enough of these classic games."

He wrote that so dumb-asses assume it is coin-operated. Dumb-asses are supposed to think they are buying a "real" bar-top manufactured by a real arcade coin-op company.

I don't think he's doing anything outright illegal due to how carefully he's chosen his words, but he's awfully close. In the end, he's still a sleaze-bag.

~Ray

horseboy:
Well, using the artwork on the sides and top without permission certainly is illegal, but I doubt Namco is going to track him down.

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