So...Are non-Rubik's cubes all illegal.

[UnstoppableWalnut]

http://www.toynews-online.biz/news/32284/Seven-Towns-uncovers-Rubiks-fakes


...:confused:

I think it's ridiculous
They've have their patent, and it expired.

 

[Edward]

But, I thought patent expired ;_;.

 

[incessantcheese]

maybe they just mean companies that pretend to be a legitimate rubik's brand...? but then it wouldn't really make sense so many companies were ejected.

it's just here in the us, i have seen "magic cubes" or whatever, that are clear knock-offs. there must be some other problem with what those companies are doing, because they're much stricter in the us than in china about that kind of thing.

 

[tarpshack]

maybe they just mean companies that pretend to be a legitimate rubik's brand...?

That's how I read it too. It sounds to me like they were passing cubes off as genuine Rubik's brand cubes when they weren't.

It's one thing to have a knock off, it's another to have a counterfeit.

 

[xXzaKerXx]

Does this mean these companies are producing cubes under the brand name Rubik's?

 

[UnstoppableWalnut]

I don't think 20 different companies would open a booth at toy fairs claiming they manufacturer the official Rubik's cube with the Rubiks cube logo on it. But there are plenty of cube manufacturers that put their on brand on it...

Rubik's seems like they like to sue for copying the "overall look" of the product.
Even though the word "counterfeit" suggests that they were passed off as genuine products with branding and everything.

“If, wherever you are in the world, you are offered Rubik’s Cubes which do not
carry the Rubik’s logo, or are not in the ‘official’ packaging developed by
ourselves in co-operation with our territorial distributors, we would ask you to
contact us, so that we can consider taking immediate legal action further up
the supply pipeline. Throughout the year, we do everything within our power
to stop shipments of counterfeit cubes at the docks – with considerable
success, I might add.

http://www.rubiks.com/~/media/Files...s_releases/October 2008 Copycat Warning.ashx

 

[Kirjava]

I find that not caring is pretty useful.

 

[incessantcheese]

how is that legal??? lego should have sued megablocks to oblivion if this was possible lol

 

[deepSubDiver]

Seven Towns Ltd. does not chase copies of their patent product, but they chase puzzles that have the same design (design is associated with a brand) - this is absolutely legit, but there are a few loopholes.

Official description of the 3x3 brand:
Has six faces, arranged geometrically, each having 3 face pairs.
Each pair is perpendicular to the others, while adjacent faces have different colors (PMS 200 C*, PMS 347 C*, PMS 293 C*, PMS 021 C*, PMS 012 C* and white).
Each of the six faces has a grid structure with black border, which divides each face into 9 equal segments.

Conclusion: If it has different colors, different plastic color (not black), no applied stickers or anything similar, it does not fall under the brand.

By the way, this also covers 2x2 to 5x5 cubes with a similar scheme.

 

[vcuber13]

that would explain ES's fandango

 

[riffz]

I'm pretty sure any 3x3 with an adjustable core is a different mechanism and therefore legal. But I'm going to have to agree with Kirjava.

 

[masterofthebass]

this has nothing to do with the mechanism. Rubik's owns a trademark, as it says in the article, "In Europe, Italian, Hungarian and French courts have all recently upheld the Rubik’s trademarks owned by Seven Towns." They are just trying to keep their monopoly after the patents have expired, which is against why patents expire in the first place. Other stuff has already been said in this thread.

 

[tarpshack]

"With the Rubik’s Cube back in fashion (12 million sold globally last year, with 15 million projected for this year), the company which owns the worldwide rights to the Cube has issued a warning to both retailers and shoppers to beware of fakes this Christmas."

There are some local hair salons that are advertising a free Rubik's cube if you can solve it. Naturally I had to check it out. I got myself a free 3x3x3 cube, but it certainly wasn't a Rubik's brand cube. That particular instance makes sense to me that it is wrong. The trademarked Rubik's name is being used to distribute a counterfeit product. But I would hate to think it is possible to chase after all the other 3x3x3 puzzle cubes out there.

 

[Ton]

But, I thought patent expired ;_;.

Yes but you can not use the name Rubik. The patent expired means you can use the mechanism.

So if a company makes any reference to Rubik in add or on their site they are in problem

 

[Zarxrax]

Well, I would wonder if the Rubik's trademark has started to become genericized. Once a trademark is genericized, the company loses that trademark. Basically it means when a trademark name becomes practically synonymous with the actual product.
For instance, Band-aid bandages are so popular, that most people stopped calling them "bandages" altogether, and just call them all "band-aids", even if its not band-aid brand. So band-aid lost their trademark protection, because it became a generic trademark.
Likewise, I think whenever a typical person sees a 3x3x3, they just know it as the "Rubik's cube". Especially here in America, that's all that people know it by. In other countries, I guess some other terms like "magic cube" might be a lot more common.

 

[chris410]

But, I thought patent expired ;_;.

You are correct and the trademark can be renewed forever.

 

[inuyasha51089]

gay honestly the worst cube out there (for at least the first 3-4 months you use it) decides that hey we had the idea first so we're gonna bully every other company that makes similar products even though they were smarter and put screws (and in alphas case washers) LAME IM NOW NEVER BUYING A RUBIKS BRAND CUBE AGAIN!!!!!!! lets show them how we feel about this and stop buying them

 

[riffz]

gay honestly the worst cube out there (for at least the first 3-4 months you use it) decides that hey we had the idea first so we're gonna bully every other company that makes similar products even though they were smarter and put screws (and in alphas case washers) LAME IM NOW NEVER BUYING A RUBIKS BRAND CUBE AGAIN!!!!!!! lets show them how we feel about this and stop buying them

What a rebel.

 

[EnterPseudonym]

gay honestly the worst cube out there (for at least the first 3-4 months you use it) decides that hey we had the idea first so we're gonna bully every other company that makes similar products even though they were smarter and put screws (and in alphas case washers) LAME IM NOW NEVER BUYING A RUBIKS BRAND CUBE AGAIN!!!!!!! lets show them how we feel about this and stop buying them

What a rebel.

¡Viva la Revolución!

 

[Mitch15]

gay honestly the worst cube out there (for at least the first 3-4 months you use it) decides that hey we had the idea first so we're gonna bully every other company that makes similar products even though they were smarter and put screws (and in alphas case washers) LAME IM NOW NEVER BUYING A RUBIKS BRAND CUBE AGAIN!!!!!!! lets show them how we feel about this and stop buying them

What a rebel.

¡Viva la Revolución!

wow....just wow