Talk:Knock-Off Policy

If consensus can be found then it should be written here in plain English.

To start the ball rolling I'd like to put down a few statements of intent and items for consideration. Let me know if I'm way off track here: -

Everybody loves getting new puzzles - let's not quash that spirit of excitement
People must be free to make an informed choice
Nobody likes being told they are stealing, being immoral, etc. Countless forum threads have illustrated that accusations just cause arguments
People live in different parts of the world with differing social and financial circumstances - goods may be more or less available, or even illegal to obtain!
I'd prefer to stop short of a ban on linking to vendors that do offer or have in the past offered knock-offs (and believe it or not, that would include Mefferts.com and cube4you!) -- I wouldn't want to somehow criminalise what has always been normal speedsolving.com forum discussion
Let's try to be civil :)

--Msemtd 17:51, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

The main puzzles

We need to clear up a lot of misguided recurring puzzle "I.P." commentary: -

DIY 3x3x3 cubes are NOT KNOCK OFFS!!!! We must express this along with the appropriate evidence
Only VERDES Innovations S.A. may produce puzzles with the V-Cube mechanisms - AND THAT IS WORLDWIDE WITH NO EXCEPTIONS!!!
Eastsheen 2x2x2, 4x4x4, 5x5x5: guidance needed?
MF8 megaminxes are fine - in fact mefferts.com sells these in place of their originals
QJ 4x4x4 puzzles are not knock-off Meffert's 4x4s!
the Void Cube and Floppy Cube, designed by Katsuhiko Okamoto and distributed by Gentosha Education Inc -- puzzle fans in the USA and Europe need advice on how to obtain the genuine puzzles for a reasonable price.

More thoughts: -

the actual legal rights of puzzle designers differ from the "moral rights" to be rewarded for their hard work and innovation
never forget that patent laws differ worldwide, are variously enforced, overlooked, or considered unimportant by companies and individuals
patents expire and are often just plain ignored
let's not forget that some of the Chinese plastics factories are finally bringing some amazing puzzles to mass market that would have otherwise not made it out of the prototype stage
puzzle designers have in the past been, and will probably continue to be both exploited by and/or well rewarded by manufacturers for their various puzzle designs. We should cite puzzle designers' own comments on twistypuzzles, their own websites, etc.
we should put emphasis on the positives: successes to date by designers/distributors - we should interview some key people: Tony Fisher and Uwe Meffert would be ideal!

--Msemtd 18:43, 19 August 2009 (UTC)