Cube-Fu
Regular
That's a pretty good point, they don't even have to be the best, they have nothing to fear they already have a good reputation.
Rubik's Legal action?
- Thread starter James Ludlow
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Riley
Veteran
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204319004577088513615125328.html
This article doesn't really talk about the legal issues that much, but still is interesting. Quote from it: "In Budapest, meanwhile, the reclusive Mr. Rubik, 67 years old, is working on a new solution to the marketing problem—his own version of the speed cubes to compete with the Chinese.
No rush, though. "We've been working on it for five years," said Janos Kovacs, chief executive at the puzzle-master's Rubik Studio design firm."
This article doesn't really talk about the legal issues that much, but still is interesting. Quote from it: "In Budapest, meanwhile, the reclusive Mr. Rubik, 67 years old, is working on a new solution to the marketing problem—his own version of the speed cubes to compete with the Chinese.
No rush, though. "We've been working on it for five years," said Janos Kovacs, chief executive at the puzzle-master's Rubik Studio design firm."
Ninja Storm
Veteran
Interesting. If Rubik's makes a good speedcube, I'll definitely pick one up.
RNewms27
Veteran
"There are deviant competitions, including five-by-five and eight-by-eight cubes."
Uh, cool.
Anyway, companies have nothing to worry about. Seventowns is a ninja trying to take down a horde of whales.
Uh, cool.
Anyway, companies have nothing to worry about. Seventowns is a ninja trying to take down a horde of whales.
E3cubestore
Regular
Point 1: touché
Point 2: a nice thought but not extremely realistic. China has improved at cracking down on KO companies, and I'm not talking just puzzles here.
For instance, I play airsoft and several companies were destroying the legit airsoft market with cheap yet high quality clones. Legal issues came up and several companies got shut down, and tons of different types of airsoft guns began illegal to import to the USA and they eventually disappeared.
As far as cubing goes, sure we will still get speedcubes, but a company as big as seven towns can put an ugly complication to it all.
Food for thought: has anyone bothered to wonder why LanLan, QJ, YJ, and other similar companies haven't released any new puzzles?? A year ago they were pumping out new kinds right and left, I have a feeling they are having legal issues....
As far as "seize and destroy" goes, it's a very real threat. Again I will take it into the unrelated but relevant example of airsoft guns.
"...bad news. Apparently, both AGM and CYMA's owners has been arrested and factories dismantled. They are being prosecuted for illegal guns manufacture in accordance to PRC's laws.
That's it folks. That is why no new products from China lately. News confirmed, as we received almost verbatim message from three different and highly reputable sources"
That's a quote from an airsoft article, the same article later describes how the officials destroyed 3000 gun replicas.
Airsoft is a larger market and therefore more susceptible.
But don't kid yourselves and say nothing bad could happen though...
Not to sound melodramatic but apathy is an invitation for rights to be removed.
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Kirjava
Colourful
Foolish conclusion.
MalusDB
Regular
Elaborate.
E3cubestore
Regular
I love how u completely ignore the core of my post to disagree with a passing quandary.
Jaycee
Veteran
Perhaps he only responded to the the part he actually felt needed a response?
asportking
Veteran
I wouldn't qualify this:
as a response. The least he could do is explain why it is a foolish conclusion. I can understand why, but whoever posted it obviously doesn't.
YouCube4x4
Member
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- Dec 11, 2011
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if rubiks wants to sell more cubes then they need to MAKE THEIR CUBES BETTER....what they don't realize is that if they did win then that wouldn't make any more people buy their cubes, in fact less people would buy them because they would be so mad at them.
BlueDevil
Veteran
fixed.
and... false
Only speedcubers would be mad, and we don't buy from them anyway. They lose little (other than maybe publicity from WRs). But this is just some legal stuff. We need to sit back and just see where things go before we get really worried.
David Zemdegs
Premium Member
Seventowns cannot make speed cubes as they are "dangerous" to the general public. They also have no intention of stopping the sales of cubes for competition. If they are taking legal action against one company then something else is going on. Further investigation is needed.
Kirjava
Colourful
Just because a company hasn't made a new product recently doesn't mean they are facing legal action.
Jumping to conclusions on issues like this only serves to spread further fear and unnecessary panic.
Jumping to conclusions on issues like this only serves to spread further fear and unnecessary panic.
E3cubestore
Regular
Like I said its food for thought, don't laugh away legal stuff. Law rarely follows the most rational path.
Also I'm not offended per se, but confused that you think those companies aren't having legal trouble. I know for a fact that lanlan made a nice quality gear cube and it was only available a very short time before Meffert's got that puzzle's production terminated. Meffert's openly claims to attempt to shut down those companies, just hang out on twisty puzzles forum for a day, those KO business have some serious enemies.
Lol and I could care less if 12 year olds panic, but I'm talking facts that I know
Also I'm not offended per se, but confused that you think those companies aren't having legal trouble. I know for a fact that lanlan made a nice quality gear cube and it was only available a very short time before Meffert's got that puzzle's production terminated. Meffert's openly claims to attempt to shut down those companies, just hang out on twisty puzzles forum for a day, those KO business have some serious enemies.
Lol and I could care less if 12 year olds panic, but I'm talking facts that I know
Cubenovice
Forever Slow
Seems logical and justified as it is clearly a case of Knock-Offs.
Normal 3x3x3 cubes are different story as there is no longer a utility patent:
- just do not brand or call them Rubik's Cubes or try to pass them off as Rubik's (counterfeiting)
- then there is this not-so-clear color scheme trademark thingy
Bapao
Premium Member
You'll still be able to buy your cubes from Chinese stores and probably elsewhere too. This will have no effect on the larger Chinese companies producing cubes and selling them to the Chinese population. So even if resellers in the west can't get their hands on speed cubes as a consequence, manufacturers will still be able to push enough merchandise in their own country to stay above water. China has it's own laws and couldn't care less what 7T wants or demands.
Big shipments to western resellers being confiscated at customs is the only potentially bad outcome of this IMO. We can feel sorry for those resellers and those that rely on them as their only source for purchasing speed cubes. But it's far fetched to deem this as the end of speed cubes.
Calm down.
Big shipments to western resellers being confiscated at customs is the only potentially bad outcome of this IMO. We can feel sorry for those resellers and those that rely on them as their only source for purchasing speed cubes. But it's far fetched to deem this as the end of speed cubes.
Calm down.
Kirjava
Colourful
Why not? Ignoring it worked in the past. For all the many apparent legal issues cube producers have had, the effect on the consumer is almost invisible.
Remember when the Maru4 was made 'illegal' by VCubes? Getting hold of it was a case of using a different store for a month or so.
You would do well to make less assumptions. I never said that companies aren't having legal trouble - I said that just because companies aren't making new products doesn't mean they're having legal trouble.
Eastsheen haven't produced a new puzzle since before 2004 - it would be more than foolish to assume that this is because of legal trouble.
I don't think that would go down well.
You care about 12 year olds panicing? Good for you.
yockee
Veteran
It's not a patent to the color scheme. What they own is the trademark / rights to the OVERALL LOOK of the 3x3 cube. That's why Dayan was allowed to continue with purple stickers. It changed the LOOK of the 3x3 cube (even though it's such a petty change).
E3cubestore
Regular
When you see that things happen the same every time and you conclude it will happen the same way again, you are using inductive reasoning, which is much less reliable than deductive reasoning.
Also remember for a short time the guhong was illegal, and the price went up significantly, which is good news for stores who operate under the radar but bad for cubers.
Touché about the assumptions, but you originally had a problem with me having "a feeling certain companies were having legal issues" is my hunch really that offensive to you?
Eastsheen has no new ideas and they make sucky products. If you have alternate theories on why the Chinese clone companies haven't been making new ones, then present a better theory rather than arguing against a perfectly relevant and acceptable hypothesis.
Actually I think it would be really funny.
Despite the way the phrase "I could care less" sounds and looks grammatically, the expression is commonly used to denote the lack of caring.
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