Seven Towns Infringement on eBay - All of EU

The biggest thing I worry about is that this crap could start happening in the U.S., I'm then going to have to buy cubes from people smuggling them in like some sort of drug.
Why does Rubik's care so much, do they wan't to upset the entire cube community. Rubik's should realize that "knockoffs" are just something there going to deal with, and if people are buying them even if they are more expensive or not shows that they are the better product, and trying to prohibit them doesn't mean that people that are buying the latest Moyu cube are going to start buying Rubiks Brands. In fact before this I might have bought their speed cube just to see how well it is, but know I'm not even considering buying anything from Rubik's even if they release a 5x5 thats better than all the ones on the market right now. In fact V-cubes could be our last hope, If Rubik's does get in a lawsuit with them, V cubes could win and Rubik's will stop doing this BS. And if they don't, V-cubes will get a taste of their own medicine by getting some of their products removed from store shelves. Not as good of an outcome, but still the Irony would be great. But hey we're not going to get stuff done by typing on some forum, maybe share this with Facebook or Twitter friends, and maybe with enough bad press, Rubik's will stop this craziness.
 
I'm not sure about EU law but in the USA you have your own lubix trademark by default if you have been selling them for a while publicly and they carry something unique such as your lubix logo that can be proven as creating a recognizable brand. if no one can tell the difference between your lubix cube and the rubik's cube then you are creating enough confusion to possibly be infringing on the rubik's trademark. traditionally in the USA rubik's brand has been winning court cases for a while right after the patent expired simply by claiming the color palate and scheme as being iconic and unique to the official rubik's brand since it has existed for years that way with mostly no legal competition. that argument falls apart when people use black instead of white or when they use rubik's colors but with something strange like green opposite yellow. rubik's has created a white DIY cube many years after Chinese brands have made and sold white cubes in the united states. rubik's is infringing on an un-enforced trademark of white plastic cubes. I read the EU court decision and it clearly does not apply to 6 color stickerless cubes as they do not contain black lines between tiles. another court challenge with OHIM pursued by a different plaintiff (lubix? V-cubes?, Dayan? Moyu?) regarding white plastic cubes would clear up any guessing games as to the legality of white cubes in the EU.
 
At the start of the year, I bought 3,000 knockoff cubes for a secret art project that I was working on from a factory in China. They were supposed to arrive at my door step in the USA in about 3 weeks, but 4 months later, the order had been shipped and not gotten here 3 seperate times. I initially passed it off as a shady company in China just trying to take my money, but I'm wondering now how long this fight for the EU trademark has been happening. The cubes had to go through the UK for some reason to get here and I'm wondering if they were seen by customs and destroyed each time...this is just a ridiculous situation.
 
Pixel 6 said:
I fully support and agree that if a cube manufacturer illegally replicates a Rubik's product, and packages it as such, with the Rubik's brand logo, they are in fact stealing money from Rubik's and hurting the cubing community in general.
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I agree - if someone is counterfeiting the Rubik's brand, and producing fake cubes that look like official Rubik's products, they are just skimming money off of Seven Towns's success and they deserve to be shut down. I am honestly not sure that anyone at Seven Towns sees the difference between this and other 3x3x3s which are sold as their own brand and have their own internal design. I am sure the vast majority of people who buy a Moyu, Dayan, Funs, etc. 3x3x3 are not customers who actually intended to buy an Official Rubik's Cube and were mislead by the fact that all of these are cubes divided into a three-by-three grid on each side.


Wikipedia says "The essential function of a trademark is to exclusively identify the commercial source or origin of products or services" - in that sense, the proper trademark on cubes ought to be the Rubik's logo and associated graphics. I think the proliferation of 3x3x3 cubes with original, creative mechanisms from many companies which compete, not with Seven Towns, but with each other, should be proof enough that the physical shape of a 3x3x3 does not identify the commercial source/origin of the cube, and in fact, is a fundamental aspect of the puzzle. Indeed, they mention unstickered cubes, and I'm pretty sure Erno Rubik was not the first to think of a solid cube divided into 3 layers on each axis. The Soma cube is a 3x3x3 take-apart puzzle developed in 1933, and is often produced in ways which emphasize the 27 cubes and not the individual pieces. Here is an old one in dark wood that could just as easily be an unstickered wooden Rubik's Cube.
 
Michael Womack said:
Look at this article http://rubiksgift.com/rubiks-cube-media/rubiks-patent-update-rubiks-wins-biggest-legal-yet/
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Quote from article:
"Effectively this decision allows the Rubik brand to claim protection for any flat sided Cube with equally spaced orthogonal 3x3x3 grid whatever surface decoration within the toy and game category."

My thoughts on this:
- Is the 'grid' of modern Speedcubes really an 'equally spaced' grid? I wouldn't say so because of the rounded corners. This would mean for me, that cubes, let's say since the ZhanChi or even earlier models wouldn't fit into the claimed protection.
- In wikipedia, speedcubing is listed as sport: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sports#Speedcubing (see also https://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?439-Speedcubing-a-Sport). Wouldn't this make Speedcubes sports equipment instead of a toy or a game?
 
Gordon said:
Quote from article:
"Effectively this decision allows the Rubik brand to claim protection for any flat sided Cube with equally spaced orthogonal 3x3x3 grid whatever surface decoration within the toy and game category."

My thoughts on this:
- Is the 'grid' of modern Speedcubes really an 'equally spaced' grid? I wouldn't say so because of the rounded corners. This would mean for me, that cubes, let's say since the ZhanChi or even earlier models wouldn't fit into the claimed protection.
- In wikipedia, speedcubing is listed as sport: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sports#Speedcubing (see also https://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?439-Speedcubing-a-Sport). Wouldn't this make Speedcubes sports equipment instead of a toy or a game?
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I looked up the definition of grid and this is what I got

A framework of spaced bars that are parallel to or cross each other.
A network of lines that cross each other to form a series of squares or rectangles.

Neither of these definitions state that a grid has to be completely straight or uniform. It's a good thought though

I honestly don't agree that cubing is a sport. It's a competitive activity but not a sport. Here is the definition I found on "sport"

An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

I guess you COULD argue that you are exerting your fingers but is any one actually going to argue that it is physically challenging to cube for a long period of time? (And then there is chess... I love you chess but your NOT a sport)
 
biscuit said:
I honestly don't agree that cubing is a sport. It's a competitive activity but not a sport. Here is the definition I found on "sport"

An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

I guess you COULD argue that you are exerting your fingers but is any one actually going to argue that it is physically challenging to cube for a long period of time? (And then there is chess... I love you chess but your NOT a sport)
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Offtopic: This is one of my favourite subjects :D What is the definition of sport?

If we go by your definition then I have some questions:
Is bowling a sport?
Is snooker a sport?
Is golf a sport?

You can't really argue that any of the above examples are "physically challenging to do for a long period of time" as you said yourself.

And if you answer that those are not sport then where do you draw the line?
Is baseball a sport?
Is javelin throw or shot put a sport? (In competition you only do 3 or 6 "throws" and that's it. Not really physically exhausting...)
 
tseitsei said:
Offtopic: This is one of my favourite subjects :D What is the definition of sport?

If we go by your definition then I have some questions:
Is bowling a sport?
Is snooker a sport?
Is golf a sport?

You can't really argue that any of the above examples are "physically challenging to do for a long period of time" as you said yourself.

And if you answer that those are not sport then where do you draw the line?
Is baseball a sport?
Is javelin throw or shot put a sport? (In competition you only do 3 or 6 "throws" and that's it. Not really physically exhausting...)
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I have only gone bowling two or three times but when I have gone I actully have gotten a bit tired. Too be fair it's probably because I'm super out of shape but to some it can be. That being said I'm not sure I would classify bowling a sport. It's closer to a sport then speed solving I would say but IDK.

Snooker is like billiards right? If so the answer is no.

I have never golfed and I'm really not sure.

Yes. Baseball is a sport. You go catch a couple of innings in the heat and tell me baseball is not a sport. There is a lot of down time yes (if you are not the pitcher or catcher) but there is a lot of effort that goes into baseball.

Sure javelin and shot are over quick but it takes a lot of physical ability to throw a ten pound metal ball far. If you were too throw for hours on end you would become tired. In cubing you can cube for hours without getting tired.
 
biscuit said:
I have only gone bowling two or three times but when I have gone I actully have gotten a bit tired. Too be fair it's probably because I'm super out of shape but to some it can be. That being said I'm not sure I would classify bowling a sport. It's closer to a sport then speed solving I would say but IDK.

Snooker is like billiards right? If so the answer is no.

I have never golfed and I'm really not sure.

Yes. Baseball is a sport. You go catch a couple of innings in the heat and tell me baseball is not a sport. There is a lot of down time yes (if you are not the pitcher or catcher) but there is a lot of effort that goes into baseball.

Sure javelin and shot are over quick but it takes a lot of physical ability to throw a ten pound metal ball far. If you were too throw for hours on end you would become tired. In cubing you can cube for hours without getting tired.
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So if I can do something for a long period of time without getting tired it's not sport? Am I understanding you correctly?

Then by that definition baseball definitely shouldn't be a sport (except for the pitcher) since most of the time most of the players just stand still on the field or sit on the bench waiting for their turn to (try to) hit the ball. Most of the batters still just miss and outfield players don't have to do anything... You can definitely play it hours on end without really getting physically too tired (if you are not the pitcher).

But yeah... IMO it's a gliding scale and not so much binary. Some things are more "sporty" than others and it's hard to define... I'll stop talking about this now
 
tseitsei said:
So if I can do something for a long period of time without getting tired it's not sport? Am I understanding you correctly?

Then by that definition baseball definitely shouldn't be a sport (except for the pitcher) since most of the time most of the players just stand still on the field or sit on the bench waiting for their turn to (try to) hit the ball. Most of the batters still just miss and outfield players don't have to do anything... You can definitely play it hours on end without really getting physically too tired (if you are not the pitcher).

But yeah... IMO it's a gliding scale and not so much binary. Some things are more "sporty" than others and it's hard to define... I'll stop talking about this now
Click to expand...

I would say that if you don't get tired after hours of doing it then it's PROBABLY not a sport. Can I ask how long it's been since you have played baseball on an organized team? First off both the pitcher and the catcher do a lot every pitch (trust me I'm a catcher) And I would argue that while it doesn't look like the other players are doing a lot if they are doing what they should be doing then every play they are moving. Weather it's covering a bag backing some one up or just going to wards a ball to possibly make a play then there is movement even if it may not be as much as say football or soccer. When you are younger the outfield is where you go if you are terrible but as you get older it REALLY comes into play. If you have your outfielders playing in the infield any decent hit in the air or even an easy popup is at least a triple. Not to mention in the case of a runner stealing backing up a throw, getting involved in a hot box etc

Sorry that was a bit off topic but baseball is the only sport I really play and care about
 
biscuit said:
I looked up the definition of grid and this is what I got

A framework of spaced bars that are parallel to or cross each other.
A network of lines that cross each other to form a series of squares or rectangles.

Neither of these definitions state that a grid has to be completely straight or uniform. It's a good thought though
Click to expand...
Actually both of those definitions say that the lines must be straight, you have to "read between the lines".

The first definition states "bars that are parallel", and since parallel lines must be straight by definition, the lines on cube must be straight.
The second definition states "to form a series of squares or rectangles". If you can find a true square or rectangle without straight lines, I would be very impressed.

So no, the two definitions do not include the phrase "straight lines" but by using the context of the definition, it does refer to that.

If the patent for Seven Towns does say "grid shape", then any cube with rounded edges, centers, or corners should theoretically be legal. I guess we may be seeing more puzzles similar in exterior appearance to gans 356, meiying, zhisheng, etc.
 
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