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thecubicle.us Vs Rubik's update

cuber314159

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The cubicle.us posted this on the cubicle.us and r/cubers

Settlement with Rubik's and Moving Forward
As you may have heard, we have been involved in an intellectual property dispute with Rubik's Brand Ltd. over the past year. Due to the pending nature of the dispute and the sensitivity of its issues, we were unable to communicate many details. Despite the hardships associated with these litigations, we are now glad to announce that mutually agreeable settlement terms have been reached, and the parties are optimistic about moving forward amicably. We plan to continue fully operating our business as usual.

Firstly, we would like to extend our warm thanks to the cubing community for its support and understanding this past year. The overwhelming support and expressions of solidarity from the community have definitely helped our team get through this complex and emotionally challenging time. Thank you for always thinking of us.

Additionally, many of you have probably heard of the upcoming Red Bull Rubik's World Championship, the final competition in a string of speedcubing events by Red Bull Mind Gamers. We understand that Red Bull had a rocky start in our community due to circumstances beyond its control. We also understand that Red Bull's events differ from the World Cube Association's (WCA), and that some community members, us included, were at first skeptical of their long-term intentions.

To this, Red Bull has ensured everybody that its goals are to diversify competitive opportunities in speedcubing and attract more attention to our sport -- not to destroy, distract, or replace. As signs of good faith, Red Bull is currently in good communication with the WCA to plan collaborations in the future and chose to rebrand their event to the Red Bull Rubik's Cube World Cup starting 2019 (due to community feedback). Competitors will also have the flexibility of using their own cubes for the upcoming Finals on September 21-22 and the rest of the series moving forward. We see these new developments as a giant step forward for growing our sport and exploring the unique opportunities ahead of us.
Seeing speedcubers succeed in new ways and on new frontiers gives us tremendous happiness, a sense we have shared with the community even before the inception of our company. In this light, Red Bull's aspirations to grow and enliven our sport are exciting and are very much aligned with our own. Because of this and their commitment to cooperating with the WCA, we have decided to collaborate with them to explore new opportunities for fun, engagement, and growth. We hope that speedcubers can give them a chance to demonstrate that they are genuinely interested in contributing to our sport.

Again, thank you, everyone, for your support and care. We are glad to have reached an amicable agreement in what began as a very stressful and confrontational dispute. We look forward to operating according to our principles and bringing you the best of what we can do in innovation, business, and helping the community grow.

Thank you for continuing to Cube With Us.

great to see that the lawsuit is over and they are moving forward
 
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pjk

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Great to hear about this. Has Rubik's been targeting SpeedCubeShop and others as well or was it directly targeting the Cubicle?

To this, Red Bull has ensured everybody that its goals are to diversify competitive opportunities in speedcubing and attract more attention to our sport -- not to destroy, distract, or replace. As signs of good faith, Red Bull is currently in good communication with the WCA to plan collaborations in the future and chose to rebrand their event to the Red Bull Rubik's Cube World Cup starting 2019 (due to community feedback). Competitors will also have the flexibility of using their own cubes for the upcoming Finals on September 21-22 and the rest of the series moving forward.
That's also great to hear. With Red Bull's partnership, I think it would greatly help the WCA both in terms of getting more recognition and funding to create bigger and better competitions.
 

xyzzy

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I don't know about SCS and other US-based stores, but there have been a couple of European stores that have been threatened by Rubik's recently, such as Knobelbox and Eurocubes; both Knobelbox and Eurocubes have pulled their 222-555 lineup. (source)

No way I'll believe Rubik's is acting in good faith if they're doing this while settling with The Cubicle.
 

mark49152

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I assume many of those who donated to the Cubicle's legal fund did so in the desire to see the situation with Rubik's resolved once and for all, in the best interests of the community. Although the fund fell well short of their target, I'd be interested to hear how the money was used, and how the resolution addresses the situation with Rubik's stance towards the wider cubing community.
 
U

Underwatercuber

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I assume many of those who donated to the Cubicle's legal fund did so in the desire to see the situation with Rubik's resolved once and for all, in the best interests of the community. Although the fund fell well short of their target, I'd be interested to hear how the money was used, and how the resolution addresses the situation with Rubik's stance towards the wider cubing community.
I was thinking the same thing, the money was meant for the lawsuit but I'm wondering on the scale of "talk it out with Rubik's and then pocket it all" to "use all the money to convince Rubik's to cancel their lawsuit" where they landed. Or they could use it for something else like donating the $5,515 to the WCA or something. Could someone tag phil, my computer doesn't seem to want to let me :p
 
U

Underwatercuber

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I would've liked to see the patents getting removed as a result as a lawsuit, this is kinda disappointing as other cube shops are still being pressed by Rubik's to shut down

The red bull comp seems cool though
1. why would they remove their patents? That would just make more people copy their products which would result in less money. They do have full rights to their designs (even if they suck lol).
2. How are they pressuring any cube shops to shut down?
 

Mike Hughey

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@asmall

1. why would they remove their patents? That would just make more people copy their products which would result in less money. They do have full rights to their designs (even if they suck lol).
2. How are they pressuring any cube shops to shut down?
If you research the details on the things Rubik's has done, you'll see that:
a. They aren't enforcing patents (the patents expired long ago); they're attempting to use trademark and copyright laws to shut down cube shops (which in my non-expert opinion is an abuse of those laws).
b. They are pressuring cube shops to shut down by claiming that since the cubes they sell look like the Rubik's trademark, they are somehow protected by it.
 
U

Underwatercuber

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If you research the details on the things Rubik's has done, you'll see that:
a. They aren't enforcing patents (the patents expired long ago); they're attempting to use trademark and copyright laws to shut down cube shops (which in my non-expert opinion is an abuse of those laws).
b. They are pressuring cube shops to shut down by claiming that since the cubes they sell look like the Rubik's trademark, they are somehow protected by it.
I didn’t know that about the patents, that definitely does seem like an abuse to me though. I didn’t really see them threaten anyone other than the cubicle and now that the lawsuit is done I don’t really think they are pressuring anyone, the pressure was more the fact that if they won the lawsuit with the cubicle then everyone else would be fair game for them to take down as well.
 

One Wheel

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I didn’t know that about the patents, that definitely does seem like an abuse to me though. I didn’t really see them threaten anyone other than the cubicle and now that the lawsuit is done I don’t really think they are pressuring anyone, the pressure was more the fact that if they won the lawsuit with the cubicle then everyone else would be fair game for them to take down as well.
Just in the last couple of weeks they've gotten a couple of European shops shut down. This settlement may or may not protect other US-based shops: I'm sure that would be clarified in the confidential part of the agreement, and will come to light with time.
 

pjk

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To anyone interested in knowing a bit more about the lawsuit, Phil was on the CornerCutter podcast recently here:
https://www.speedsolving.com/forum/...-and-how-to-improve.64980/page-2#post-1301673

Towards the beginning he talks about it - mainly the fact that the lawsuit was settled but the details can't be talked about due to the confidentiality agreement, but The Cubicle is satisfied with the agreement and they will continue to support the community. The episode is worth a listen to get an update about the cubing market, and the future of the Cubicle.
 
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