• Welcome to the Speedsolving.com, home of the web's largest puzzle community!
    You are currently viewing our forum as a guest which gives you limited access to join discussions and access our other features.

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community of 40,000+ people from around the world today!

    If you are already a member, simply login to hide this message and begin participating in the community!

meffert Puzzle News as of January 12. 2009 – New Puzzle releases !!!

Ton

Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2007
Messages
738
Location
Den Haag, The Netherlands
WCA
2003DENN01
YouTube
Visit Channel
Hi

Appart to annouce new puzzles
http://mefferts.com/page.php?lang=en&theme=new_puzzle_release

There was a section SPECIAL NOTICE: No one hates copy factories and knockoff puzzles more that Erno Rubik and me,

Where I noticed:
FYI, the Back to Square-1, Void cube, 6x6x6 and 7x7x7 V-cubes have all been successfully copied in this
manner and the mold for the V-cube 9x9x9 is almost finished. As soon as the copy companies see a new
puzzle on the Twisty Puzzle forum or YouTube that they think has potential, they will take out a Chinese
local design patent, which can be granted in China within six months at relatively little cost. It makes me
very angry to see the local copy companies becoming millionaires overnight while the poor
original inventors/designers get nothing
 

jcuber

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2008
Messages
1,417
Location
Behind you.
WCA
2009LEVI01
YouTube
Visit Channel
As soon as the copy companies see a new
puzzle on the Twisty Puzzle forum or YouTube that they think has potential, they will take out a Chinese
local design patent, which can be granted in China within six months at relatively little cost. It makes me
very angry to see the local copy companies becoming millionaires overnight while the poor
original inventors/designers get nothing

With how much v-cubes cost, I don't think Mr. Verdes is poor.
 

TomZ

Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2007
Messages
294
With how much v-cubes cost, I don't think Mr. Verdes is poor.

That's not quite true. He might have quite some money, but I don't think that would be due to the sales of the cubes. While manufacturing the cubes isn't that expensive once you're set up to do so, there are high start up costs. The molds are complex, and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to make. It is a big investment to start making these things.

I think we should all support him by buying none of the fake V-Cubes so that he can manufacture the other V-Cubes as well.
 

jcuber

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2008
Messages
1,417
Location
Behind you.
WCA
2009LEVI01
YouTube
Visit Channel
I have never seen fake v-cubes, I have a feeling that the chinnese knock-offs aren't going to chance selling them online. Also, isn't producing them in violation of international copyright law?
 

AvGalen

Premium Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2006
Messages
6,857
Location
Rotterdam (actually Capelle aan den IJssel), the N
WCA
2006GALE01
YouTube
Visit Channel
Also, isn't producing them in violation of international copyright law?

The V-Cube designs are patented worldwide, so they can't get away with selling them even in China.

I don't think a worldwide patent exists. The Chinese are (in)famous for copying everything and getting away with it. I even thought that copying was allowed by Chinese law, but I just read that somewhere, sometime.
 

Unknown.soul

Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2008
Messages
884
Location
Orangevale, CA
YouTube
Visit Channel

daniel0731ex

Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Messages
2,294
Also, isn't producing them in violation of international copyright law?

The V-Cube designs are patented worldwide, so they can't get away with selling them even in China.

I don't think a worldwide patent exists. The Chinese are (in)famous for copying everything and getting away with it. I even thought that copying was allowed by Chinese law, but I just read that somewhere, sometime.


they actually are legal in china, they don't have a patent system there



never heard of comminism? :p
 
Last edited:

AvGalen

Premium Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2006
Messages
6,857
Location
Rotterdam (actually Capelle aan den IJssel), the N
WCA
2006GALE01
YouTube
Visit Channel
Also, isn't producing them in violation of international copyright law?

The V-Cube designs are patented worldwide, so they can't get away with selling them even in China.

I don't think a worldwide patent exists. The Chinese are (in)famous for copying everything and getting away with it. I even thought that copying was allowed by Chinese law, but I just read that somewhere, sometime.


they actually are legal in china, they don't have a patent system there



never heard of comminism? :p

No, never heard of comminism:p
Thanks for the info about the absence of t Chinese patent system. Do you have a source for that?
 

daniel0731ex

Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Messages
2,294
Also, isn't producing them in violation of international copyright law?

The V-Cube designs are patented worldwide, so they can't get away with selling them even in China.

I don't think a worldwide patent exists. The Chinese are (in)famous for copying everything and getting away with it. I even thought that copying was allowed by Chinese law, but I just read that somewhere, sometime.


they actually are legal in china, they don't have a patent system there



never heard of comminism? :p

No, never heard of comminism:p
Thanks for the info about the absence of t Chinese patent system. Do you have a source for that?


ARRRR~mispelled again lol (i meant communism:D)

well, i thought the fact that china is a communist country is common sense....:rolleyes: maybe it's only for us asians :p

P.S what's t Chinese?:D
 

MistArts

Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
1,490
If the chinese vcube knock-offs are cheaper and i cant get arrested for buying/owning one, i wouldent care if they started making them. vcube has been monopolising the 7x7x7 and 6x6x6 for wayyyyyyy to long!

I though monopolies are only illegal in the US?
 

Kenneth

Not Alot
Joined
Aug 10, 2007
Messages
1,693
Location
Kauparve, Hejde, Gotland, Sweden
WCA
2005GUST01
YouTube
Visit Channel
If the chinese vcube knock-offs are cheaper and i cant get arrested for buying/owning one, i wouldent care if they started making them. vcube has been monopolising the 7x7x7 and 6x6x6 for wayyyyyyy to long!

you did not get it did you?

6x6 and 7x7 are V-cubes only because it is Verdes innovation. If anyone can make up their own construction for a 6x/7x then it would be OK but noone has done that.

It is like you are writing a book, then a chinese copys it and sells it for a lower price than you and give you nothing... I'm sure that would make you really happy :]

I'm supporting Uwe on this one, will newer buy a chinaminx or anything... only legal puzzles for me.
 
Last edited:

AvGalen

Premium Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2006
Messages
6,857
Location
Rotterdam (actually Capelle aan den IJssel), the N
WCA
2006GALE01
YouTube
Visit Channel
If the chinese vcube knock-offs are cheaper and i cant get arrested for buying/owning one, i wouldent care if they started making them. vcube has been monopolising the 7x7x7 and 6x6x6 for wayyyyyyy to long!

you did not get it did you?

6x6 and 7x7 are V-cubes only because it is Verdes innovation. If anyone can make up their own construction for a 6x/7x then it would be OK but noone has done that.

It is like you are writing a book, then a chinese copys it and sells it for a lower price than you and give you nothing... I'm sure that would make you really happy :]

I'm supporting Uwe on this one, will newer buy a chinaminx or anything... only legal puzzles for me.
On the other hand it would help if Mefferts and V-Cubes would listen better to their customers and would improve the quality of their V-Cubes. I think it is pretty ridiculous that an (expensive) Mefferts Megaminx comes with tiles that don't stick (and thus fall off and sometimes get lost), springs that are way to tight and basically is almost impossible to turn and how often could someone actually buy one in the last 2 years?

The same can be said for Rubiks DIY (center caps fall off) and the reduced quality of their 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 compared to the ones that were available three years ago. (Rubiks 2x2x2 is just....)
Or V-Cubes 6x6x6 (how many mods have there been lately????)
 

Kieran

Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2009
Messages
69
Location
NZ, but in Germany at the moment
YouTube
Visit Channel
Saying that it is protected by International Copyright Law means basically nothing in China, Bali, etc. Nike is internationally copyrighted and if you go to China or most Asian markets you can buy cheap fakes that are said to be real. They are able to do it because it's nearly impossible to track this and if you do catch some-one it's bloody hard to get anything out of them.

EDIT: I just read some more posts and thought I'd argue just a little more. China does have a patent system, it's just (As I have already said) near impossible to police, but they have taken huge changes to try and fix the problem so that they don't get looked at as the copy-country of the world.

@Odin: Have you ever done anything worthwhile in your life because that was one of the most self-centered comments I've heard, I agree entirely with Kenneth (above)

@Av Galen: Have you ever considered the complexity of making the cube, let alone editing it not long after you have released it. It's not exactly a quick process. You have people moaning from all sides; you have people wanting V4 and V8-11 (so forth) and the people who want a V6b, you can't please everyone all the time, and no doubt to make the modification it costs absolutely loads of money and we know knowing of what is happening at the factory and planning stages, so I think it is unjust to say that it's okay to buy Chinese cubes, etc because the companies that originally made them aren't making the mods that you want. I realise other people want that as well, but you can't please everyone. Have you heard the saying, "It's easier to put on slippers that carpet the whole world"? It speaks the truth. :D

But this argument doesn't really begin or end with cubes, everything nowadays can be gotten through a copy or through the internet? How many people here can honestly say they have never downloaded a song/movie from the internet (illegaly) or bought a fake copy of something? I imagine none.
 
Last edited:
E

Ethan Rosen

Guest
On the other hand it would help if Mefferts and V-Cubes would listen better to their customers and would improve the quality of their V-Cubes. I think it is pretty ridiculous that an (expensive) Mefferts Megaminx comes with tiles that don't stick (and thus fall off and sometimes get lost),

I don't know about everything else that you said, but Uwe has said in the past that the reason for this is that they can't legally sell toys with toxic (aka strong) glue, because since they are toys it is assumed they are selling them to children, and the government assumes children will eat the puzzles.
 
Top