Here we go again

[johnallg]

A very aptly named thread!

I think we should commission some of the more knowledgeable experts on RRF to write an FAQ, or Frequently Posted Arguments, or something like that.

A very aptly named thread indeed! Why post a thread like this? Why not just email legal at rickenbacker dot com and report the infringement, instead of dragging all this out each time?

Can of worms indeed.

[jwr2]

Why not just email legal at rickenbacker dot com and report the infringement, instead of dragging all this out each time?

Why should we do their job for them? seriously? don't they like get paid to do it?

[deaconblues]

Why not just email legal at rickenbacker dot com and report the infringement, instead of dragging all this out each time?

Why should we do their job for them? seriously? don't they like get paid to do it?

Something tells me they've got bigger things to worry about...

[doctorwho]

I suggest that those who think it's OK to copy ideas to try to market a new brand of soda, any flavor, calling it whatever name, but using the same font and colors as Coca-Cola's:

CocaCola.jpg (7.43 KiB) Viewed 671 times

and see how long it takes to get shut down.

And, it doesn't have to be the same flavor - it still is infringing.

[johnallg]

Jeff and Dan, who do you think that email address goes to??? John can't find them all, and being ebay and major internet stores are very public, the need to police is very much there.

[deargdoom]

The law is the law. Nevermind that your argument ignores the many fakes passed off as the real deal (and the people fooled by them). Nevermind that your argument is a questionable assertion with little to back it up, for that matter. It sure isn't "simple as that". Even ignoring all that, you're not addressing the fact that this is the law.

but it's not the law everywhere.

[jwr2]

IBM invented a personal computer in the 1980s thay allowed it to be copied. Apple invented a personal computer in the 1980s and didn't allow it to be copied. Where I work we have over 1000 IBM pcs (not clones), and maybe 1 or 2 Apple pcs. IBM allowed their product to be copied and they make thousands of dollars from my company. Apple didn't allow their product to be copied and they make next to nothing from us. And we have several other large offices around the world that it is the same way.

Some are bored with this topic but from a business / marketing and market share point of view I find it fascinating.

If I could not own copies I would not be able to have a p-bass, a jazz bass, a mm bass, along with my Rics.

Many times someone will start with a copy and then move up to the real thing when they get more money.

[deaconblues]

Jeff and Dan, who do you think that email address goes to??? John can't find them all, and being ebay and major internet stores are very public, the need to police is very much there.

Sorry, wasn't clear enough...I meant that we aren't "doing the jobs" of the RIC legal team because policing eBay and internet sites is just one small part. I definitely agree we should help them out and ease that burden.

[rickenbrother]

but it's not the law everywhere.

Okay then come up with an idea for a product and post it here. Then I'll go to where it's an an exception to the law and make copies. Let's see how much you like it.

[qwezirider]

I'm sure I'll whack a couple toes here on this one. But the thing I find ironic here is that many of us are protective of the Rick package and understand where the company is coming from. Yet in another section of this forum, we're conducting compilation CDs of our favorite music. We point a finger at infringement in one direction yet look the other way when it takes place (albeit in a tremendously small scale) in another manner.

[jingle_jangle]

Good point, Bruce. Any infringement on a registered copyright is a violation of the law. We are not doing this for profit but still, there's a few cents that the pilfered artists are missing.

Attorneys who are members of this site are loathe to comment, lest their views go on public record. But I sure wish we had a good legal advisor to put this topic in perspective.

To go back a few steps, Apple DID license at least one company to make MAC clones (I recall owning one by Power Computing, Inc., back in '95). They got cold feet, however, as they realized from Power's sales and the issue of servicing warranty work, that they were diluting their brand, and pulled the license amid a lot of bad press.

Apple continues sellng its own exclusive products to this day, and have not licensed their brand for competitors again, to my knowledge (which is admittedly spotty in some areas). Who has bought an IBM personal computer lately? They're one of a thousand brands out there, each with its own trademarks, patents, and points of difference from a marketing perspective.

And it's all tied together by intellectual property protection, and frequently litigated.

[jakeox]

iPods are doing well for Apple, too -- heavily defended.

[jwr2]

The company I work for has 55,000 employees and the standard issue computer is an IBM ... not a clone ...

This topic is interesting from a legal point of view but also from an ethical point of view. Also which approach serves the greater good? Is it better for the greater good to protect every little aspect of your design? Is it better for young musicians to have access to cheap knock offs of Fender and Gibson?

The path that Rickenbacker has taken has lead to many spare parts to either become not available or very expensive. It has also made copying Rickenbackers and Rickenbacker parts very lucrative, and it could even lead to more copies being made.

[jwr2]

iPods are doing well for Apple, too -- heavily defended.

I prefer the more generic mp3 players.

[gearhed289]

Anybody have a link to a picture of one of those Sandberg pseudo-Ricks? I've found some Sandbergs, but none of them look anything like a Ric.