All those Vm-68 clones...

[Kevmaster]

Legally, how can Spyders, Phirranas, Raptors, Muraders, Avengers, F1s, F4s, Genesis Tradings, Rebels, Genies, VM-68s, Excellerators, Dark Raiders, Bruisers, etc exist. Wouldnt that be a violation of SOMEONE's patent?? Sure, there are a few minor differences but many of them have tons of INTERCHANGEABLE parts. anyone got any insight?

thanks...this is always something that has bugged me

[cheetah256]

could the patent have expired? or maybe they never patented it? i dunno, i've thought about it before too...

[Kevmaster]

that was one of the original thoughts, however if hte all started making them Jan 1, 2003(they didnt--its been much longer) the patent would have had to have been awarded Jan. 1, 1989. And i dont think the stacked tube blow back design was around in '89...maybe im wrong...but i dont think it was

[rjvemt1]

arthur c. clark holds the patent for the communication satalite but he doesnt make them. he invented it then other people pay him to use his patent.

patents also have to be very specific. henry ford couldnt just patent the automobile, there would be no chevy or cadillac or lincoln etc. this aplies to every product made(even the computer your using right now).

when you get a patent you have to apply for one so thqat leads me to believe that you could be turned down, which suggestes that certain types of thing cant be patented.

[flanders]

all u got 2 do is change 10 percent of the design

this could include trigger bolt where the orings are how u adjust the velocity etc

[Rust]

from what i've been told a lot of those markers are all built by the same company. it's pretty common in this market, most of the products available in paintball are made by a couple firms, and just packed, or colored diferently, or changed slightly from the others and sold under another name. mabey the manufacturer has some sway over the patent (rather than kingman, pmi, ect.) or, it could just be that magic 10% mentioned above.

[cheetah256]

hmm...maybe thats why kingman puts out 2 million different guns with the only difference being color and milling :D

[thei3ug]

Arthur C Clark Patented nothing of the sort. In a short story he proposed a geostationary satellite that could be used to beam information to a given area, as well as wrote quite a bit on the idea. He can be considered the conceptual father of the communications satellite, but he did not, nor could he patent it.

Henry Ford was incapable of patenting the automobile. There were already patents concerning automated transportation, but besides that there had to be someone patenting these contraptions. Ford made his first car because he saw a Benz on the street. Daimler was also already producing automobiles. In the United States, the Duryea brothers were probably the first Americans to actually produce more than one car of the same type a full year before Ford even got to work on a car in his spare time.

Furthermore the VM68 was not patented. So the whole patent issue is, well, not an issue.

And there are a few manufacturers that make accessories for a great many paintball companies. This is evident with the mirror extrusions you see now and again with different product lines, but there are still a few who make them all in house, or are based overseas and import their complete line.