Originally Posted by
MatsNorway
My message was simply that by proving it was a common design before the patent the patent does not stand that strong in court/whateveritiscalled
Not quite how it works. The ARMA/ Hobbico lawsuit is one of the culprits of the failure of Hobbico. The lawsuit was over the pushrod design, not how the truck actually looks from my understanding. However I will admit that the fact that it looks so similar is why the lawsuit happened.
On the patent, there has been plenty of conversation all over the place. From what I gather, Traxxas' patent in on the usage of pushrod suspensions and inboard shocks on model cars. It's really broad.
The point I am trying to make is not that the patent may or not be enforceable. The issue at hand is that if you were to get in their way or their "path" the actual cost of having to defend you would be overwhelming. Too much for a little guy to withstand vs a company with much deeper pockets. Often most intellectual copyright issues are resolved with a simple seize and desist because the cost of fighting it is too high and the benefit of "winning" the lawsuit are outweighed by the cost to get to this resolution, whether monetary or time.
With that said, I do not believe that G-Rem will have any issues with his current design. I was simply stating that if you worry about protecting intellectual rights in this industry, where you have ALL OF THE LARGE manufacturers copying small design houses all the time, you will be disappointed and probably lose all motivation to do something you should really be doing for the love of.