Soon you will be supporting Smart Parts when you buy a Quick-Release feedneck...

[Smart Parts Sean]

All the "x-files" theories, he said she said areall moot points. Simply undetail means to an end that we all can clearly see. No matter , what type of letter SP sent, did not send ect..does not mater.

What matters is the fact that the end actions of SP ETHICAL and MORAL choices about how they do business in OUR ( All Paintball PLAYERS) world has impacted us all. Directly or indirectly all are products in some way of choices SP has made.

They dont love the sport, they simply love the money. Long gone are the days when getting people to play PB for LOVE. Its all about the $$, no matter what the moral or ethical cost are.

Speaking from my AGD heart, Tom really loved this sport, way more that he loved money. It was a passion. His PB carrer echoes this in everything he has done. I mean making a consious moral and ethical decision not to push the powerfeed and HPA patents for the good of the paintball community and Tom was not the only one of PB great fore fathers that did things to ensure the sport grows.

WOW what a contrast to SP.

TK Got out of the sport because his passion was gone. Our passion is here greater then before. If we cared about money, we would be selling in all the Wal-marts and so forth which we do not. We have changed focus to helping the dealers grow and make money. And I have been working on a project to help build more potential players throughout the US. Which you will be seeing more of what I am doing over the next few years. The paintball industry is still rather young and you have to realize that there is a learning curve for everyone and people do make mistakes. I think that SP is one of the few companies that care about the long term of our industry. I have worked in stores, fields, other manufacturers.. and Billy and Adam really do impress me. They may not be the best people to talk to in person all the time, but that is why they have me. And I have enough passion to make up for anyone around here not having any

[Smart Parts Sean]

Is the EMAG Back?? This is from a post on here.

buski
PBC Whipping Boy. Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 10


I shipped it off to Boro today!

And yes, we still have two more E tacs in stock brand new. Along with about 2-3 tac ones, 2-3 ULE mags and some good old classics. Not to mention 8 sydarms!

[dstud2000]

Sean I think why many people are upset with SP is due to the fact the SP patent has halted the further innovation of the electronic gun, especially here on AO with the EMag and XMag. We never got to see that line of guns blossom and develop into its full potential due to the complete halt put on those platforms.

I understand you are business trying to protect your investments and capital, as well as your claim of protecting your product from copy by cheap China knock offs. The thing I say is you may have closed the door to improvements that could have been made and integrated into SP's products due to your own patents, now the further innovation of the electronic paintball gun is severly limited. You say the royalties are very minimal, if they were truely that minimal I can't believe that the companies that closed their doors or stopped production of certain products would not have agreed to them, I could be wrong maybe some are that stubborn but it would not make sense, so how much would the royalties be in the case of the electronic paintball guns?

Also Tippmann is not a good example anymore of a paintball company keeping their products made here in the USA. Their newest line of markers the U.S. Army paintball guns are manufactured and assembled in China and only packaged here in the USA. As for SP keeping things in the USA, isn't the ION and the newest lower end line of markers from SP imported from overseas?

As far as SP goes, I do like the freak system, especially the ss sleeves that were made but hard to come by. I thought the Nerve was one of the more innovative SP guns to come out with but very disappointed when it was taken out of production. The old school shoebox shockers were great IMO but gone now too.

I think it has been said before that paintball was and in many ways still a game of honor and of gentlemen, which is why so many people have been disgusted with the practices of SP, seeing them as underhanded. This following expects the companies producing the equipment for them to follow this same code of honor, which if that was the case for all involved would be great. Unfortunately this is not an ideal world. My money will support the companies that I feel have benefited the game of paintball the most such as AGD, PPS and so forth.

[dstud2000]

Is the EMAG Back?? This is from a post on here.

buski
PBC Whipping Boy. Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 10


I shipped it off to Boro today!

And yes, we still have two more E tacs in stock brand new. Along with about 2-3 tac ones, 2-3 ULE mags and some good old classics. Not to mention 8 sydarms!

I believe though I could be wrong these were markers already in possesion of this store before the stop of production......Could be wrong though

[Smart Parts Sean]

Sean I think why many people are upset with SP is due to the fact the SP patent has halted the further innovation of the electronic gun, especially here on AO with the EMag and XMag. We never got to see that line of guns blossom and develop into its full potential due to the complete halt put on those platforms.

TK decided not to take the EMAG further. He gave up and therefore in my opinion, gave up on his customers. He had his passion beat out of him by business. He should have let someone else run his company so he could do what he loved. Business can beat you do pretty good which is why I will never own my own. All they had to do was pay a small royalty fee, call it $30 (not saying that is it, but I am sure I am not too far off.

I understand you are business trying to protect your investments and capital, as well as your claim of protecting your product from copy by cheap China knock offs. The thing I say is you may have closed the door to improvements that could have been made and integrated into SP's products due to your own patents, now the further innovation of the electronic paintball gun is severly limited. You say the royalties are very minimal, if they were truely that minimal I can't believe that the companies that closed their doors or stopped production of certain products would not have agreed to them, I could be wrong maybe some are that stubborn but it would not make sense, so how much would the royalties be in the case of the electronic paintball guns?

Is it limited? I think that if our patents would not be there,

1. someone else would do it, an probably manufacture outside the US. That is the nature of business
2. Heck, our low-mid end gun range could be over ran with cheap knock offs of each other. Look how many crappy spyder wanna be and cocker wanna be's have been out over the years
3. Hindsight is truly 20/20. I think patents will help stabilize the industry in the future.
4. And yes, they were that stubborn. AKALMP were all engineers running a business, and you know how pig headed engineers can be.

Also Tippmann is not a good example anymore of a paintball company keeping their products made here in the USA. Their newest line of markers the U.S. Army paintball guns are manufactured and assembled in China and only packaged here in the USA. As for SP keeping things in the USA, isn't the ION and the newest lower end line of markers from SP imported from overseas?

The only thing we import now are plastics. All metal components are manufactured in our state of the art manufacturing facility. We even brought the boards back here to the US. Our solenoids are from Japan I believe.

As far as SP goes, I do like the freak system, especially the ss sleeves that were made but hard to come by. I thought the Nerve was one of the more innovative SP guns to come out with but very disappointed when it was taken out of production. The old school shoebox shockers were great IMO but gone now too.

I think it has been said before that paintball was and in many ways still a game of honor and of gentlemen, which is why so many people have been disgusted with the practices of SP, seeing them as underhanded. This following expects the companies producing the equipment for them to follow this same code of honor, which if that was the case for all involved would be great. Unfortunately this is not an ideal world. My money will support the companies that I feel have benefited the game of paintball the most such as AGD, PPS and so forth.

We still have stainless steel inserts in stock

And that is your opinion. I think that Smart Parts in the 4 years I have been here has done quite a bit for the sport and will continue to do so.

[RogueFactor]

The Q-lock is similar to the lever lock on a bike. But we were the first to start using it in paintball. Everyone said "DAMN, that is easy. Why did I not think of that?" And the copying begins.

First of all, CCM used the first non-lever 'clamping' feedneck. To go from a non-Quick release bike clamp to a lever release isnt a development as youve previously claimed SP 'developed' this neck.

Second, nobody copied you. Anyone else used a part that has been on the market for decades to clamp a tube. Not innovate. If anything, you copied CCM and added to their design a QR leve thats commony available in any bike shop.

I am just here to inform the masses as SP's little banner boy.. lol.

Not inform, persuade with one-sided info.

By the way, did Tippmann or Kingman ever sign an electro licensing agreement with SP? Please inform us since you are here to inform the masses.

[Smart Parts Sean]

First of all, CCM used the first non-lever 'clamping' feedneck. To go from a non-Quick release bike clamp to a lever release isnt a development as youve previously claimed SP 'developed' this neck.

Second, nobody copied you. Anyone else used a part that has been on the market for decades to clamp a tube. Not innovate. If anything, you copied CCM and added to their design a QR leve thats commony available in any bike shop.


Not inform, persuade with one-sided info.

By the way, did Tippmann or Kingman ever sign an electro licensing agreement with SP? Please inform us since you are here to inform the masses.

I am pretty sure they did. I will have to double check.

Also, if you want to look at it that way... The Automag is a spool valve. Nothing innovated since spool valves have been used in many other industries for years. Locomotive industry dating back to the 1800's!

If you take something from another industry and use it in your own with changes or combine things to make something better then what is out there in your industry... It is patentable.

[RogueFactor]

I am pretty sure they did. I will have to double check.

Please do, Id like to know for sure. Also, if you could, link me to the Press Release. Ive seen them for nearly every other company but these two.

Also, if you want to look at it that way... The Automag is a spool valve. Nothing innovated since spool valves have been used in many other industries for years. Locomotive industry dating back to the 1800's!

There is a locomotive in the Automag! Thats great!!! Does that mean SP and Dye will be paying AGD a licensing fee for their use of the spool valve? Can AGD go back and broaden their patent to include spoolers?

If you take something from another industry and use it in your own with changes or combine things to make something better then what is out there in your industry... It is patentable.

Not if its obvious. SP knows this, which is why the WDP programmable board patent was overturned. This is the same for the lever feedneck.

However, nobody has done anything to change it or make it better. It is an identical in function to a QR bicycle clamp.

[ThePixelGuru]

Sean, let me start of by saying that I'm glad you made it over here - I've found our previous discussions interesting, and I'm happy to see you taking the time once more to talk to us.

TK decided not to take the EMAG further. He gave up and therefore in my opinion, gave up on his customers. He had his passion beat out of him by business. He should have let someone else run his company so he could do what he loved. Business can beat you do pretty good which is why I will never own my own. All they had to do was pay a small royalty fee, call it $30 (not saying that is it, but I am sure I am not too far off.

Well, can you blame him? You're going to have a hard time convincing me (and most others) that bolting a microswitch behind a trigger is really an innovation. The technology was getting there on its own, Smart Parts just beat everyone else to the punch in patenting it. Yes, I suppose that's legal, and yes, I suppose that's "just business," but you'll have a real hard time convincing me that Smart Parts actually deserves a piece of everyone else's pie for that. Furthermore, I've always found it extremely sketchy that no Smart Parts rep will ever say exactly what the royalty fee was. I've seen you guys claim anything from six dollars up, but never anything more than "I'm guessing" or "probably close to." You have the numbers, you're talking about the numbers, so why not show the numbers? Whatever, probably irrelevant anyway. I know exactly how much AGD demanded for other companies to make HPA systems and use them on their markers, and I know exactly how much Tippmann demanded for the use of pin valves in constant air systems: $0.00. And I know why that was: because they cared about the advancement of the sport, and they recognized that they didn't have a legitimate (deserving, not legal) claim to these ideas. Smart Parts, however, felt the need to twist everyone's arm to take a piece of their profits for an idea anyone could have come up with. That being the case, is it any real surprise that Mr. Kaye decided to step out of the industry? I know I would feel pretty disheartened if I had given that much to the industry and the sport as a whole only to have a couple of patent lawyers come in and tell me that they were entitled to a piece of my work.

Is it limited? I think that if our patents would not be there,

1. someone else would do it, an probably manufacture outside the US. That is the nature of business
2. Heck, our low-mid end gun range could be over ran with cheap knock offs of each other. Look how many crappy spyder wanna be and cocker wanna be's have been out over the years
3. Hindsight is truly 20/20. I think patents will help stabilize the industry in the future.
4. And yes, they were that stubborn. AKALMP were all engineers running a business, and you know how pig headed engineers can be.

Concerning point 2, that's different than the Smart Parts electro fiasco. JT and WGP would have had more of a right to defend themselves against these clones, because they were ripoffs of the entire design. There was no innovation there, merely a copycat. The whole electro thing is completely different, because Smart Parts stifled innovative designs (Vikings, XMags, etc) because they used a similar off-the-shelf component in their construction. If you want a closer analogy, Smart Parts patenting the electronic trigger is as ridiculous as if WGP had, say, patented the use of a pneumatic ram on a paintball marker. Could they have? Sure. But they shouldn't have, and they didn't. If you were defending against carbon copies of the Ion, I'd agree with you, but that's just not the case.

With regard to point 3, I believe that the only way your patents will "stabilize" the industry is by stifling innovation and stomping out all the little guys so that only a few industry giants will remain to churn out the same lame marker with new milling every year. The only difference will be that Smart Parts will claim it has "seal forward technology" and "improved range."

And lastly, point 4. Similar to my statements about how I can't blame Mr. Kaye for losing his passion for the industry, I can't blame AKA for being stubborn. If you were an engineer and had some bigshot lawyers swoop in to tell you that actually, all that stuff you poured blood, sweat and tears into over the past few years was really theirs because you used a microswitch, well, I bet you'd be pretty damn stubborn, too. I don't know about you, but I'd rather burn it all to the ground than watch some corporate fat cats siphon off the returns from my hard work.

And that is your opinion. I think that Smart Parts in the 4 years I have been here has done quite a bit for the sport and will continue to do so.

Yes, they have done quite a bit for the sport, and I don't believe any of what they've done has been positive. The companies that you drove out of business realized that for paintball to be successful, they had to work to make the sport as a whole bigger and better, because that attracts new players, which means growth, and growth means everyone wins. The Gardner brothers, however, have the typical corporate lawyer attitude that there's only so much pie, and profiting means taking as big a chunk of that pie as possible from everyone else by any means possible. Take a look at the industry reports in the past several years, and you'll notice that as innovation of new products stops (largely due to Smart Part's efforts) and every new marker is the same 15bps ramping electro in a new shell, player growth stagnates as well. It's pretty much impossible to prove cause and effect with the information that I have, but it's my impression that the lack of exciting new developments in the industry leads to a lack of excited new players entering the sport and a lack of old players still excited enough about the sport to stay. A large chuck of the responsibility for that lack of new development falls squarely in the lap of your company. You could argue that Smart Parts is just in it to win it and does what they need to in order to stay ahead, but what I see when I look at Smart Parts is a company that sees dollar signs instead of the potential to advance the sport. I'll keep voting with my wallet, which means that Smart Parts with their strongarm tactics will never see a dime of my money.

[Smart Parts Sean]

Sean, let me start of by saying that I'm glad you made it over here - I've found our previous discussions interesting, and I'm happy to see you taking the time once more to talk to us.


Well, can you blame him? You're going to have a hard time convincing me (and most others) that bolting a microswitch behind a trigger is really an innovation. The technology was getting there on its own, Smart Parts just beat everyone else to the punch in patenting it. Yes, I suppose that's legal, and yes, I suppose that's "just business," but you'll have a real hard time convincing me that Smart Parts actually deserves a piece of everyone else's pie for that. Furthermore, I've always found it extremely sketchy that no Smart Parts rep will ever say exactly what the royalty fee was. I've seen you guys claim anything from six dollars up, but never anything more than "I'm guessing" or "probably close to." You have the numbers, you're talking about the numbers, so why not show the numbers? Whatever, probably irrelevant anyway. I know exactly how much AGD demanded for other companies to make HPA systems and use them on their markers, and I know exactly how much Tippmann demanded for the use of pin valves in constant air systems: $0.00. And I know why that was: because they cared about the advancement of the sport, and they recognized that they didn't have a legitimate (deserving, not legal) claim to these ideas. Smart Parts, however, felt the need to twist everyone's arm to take a piece of their profits for an idea anyone could have come up with. That being the case, is it any real surprise that Mr. Kaye decided to step out of the industry? I know I would feel pretty disheartened if I had given that much to the industry and the sport as a whole only to have a couple of patent lawyers come in and tell me that they were entitled to a piece of my work.

I am unable to give you exact numbers due to non-disclosures. I like my job and I would not like to get fired. Well you are talking about a high end gun, what is $30.. or even $40? On an EMAG, that is 3-4% of the price if the price is based on $1000. Could it be lower? Yes. Could it be higher? I have not seen it.

HPA - why would TK want to patent that? It helps him more not too because the AM runs better on HPA. So, it is a two way street. Option 1 - patent it.. make money in the long run on a risk that HPA will one day become dominant in the industry. Option 2 - Don't do it and be able to sell more Automags in the short term. That pretty much sums it up. Same thing goes with the Pin valve as well with Tippmann. As far as anyone coming up with the idea of an electronic gun, yes anyone can. But we beat everyone to the punch. Do you have any idea how much it costs to even produce a gun?? I would assume that the PVI Shocker cost easily a million dollars to bring to market. Why would you not want to patent it?? You run the risk of putting yourself out of business. I have a general idea of what it costs to bring our newer guns to markert, and it is very expensive. I have spoke with TK through the years as well, and I remember him saying back in 1999 that he was burnt out of paintball. But that was due to politics well before the legalities came in.

Concerning point 2, that's different than the Smart Parts electro fiasco. JT and WGP would have had more of a right to defend themselves against these clones, because they were ripoffs of the entire design. There was no innovation there, merely a copycat. The whole electro thing is completely different, because Smart Parts stifled innovative designs (Vikings, XMags, etc) because they used a similar off-the-shelf component in their construction. If you want a closer analogy, Smart Parts patenting the electronic trigger is as ridiculous as if WGP had, say, patented the use of a pneumatic ram on a paintball marker. Could they have? Sure. But they shouldn't have, and they didn't. If you were defending against carbon copies of the Ion, I'd agree with you, but that's just not the case.

Stifling is an opinion that you have. I see it differently. I see gun manufacturers coming up with newer and more creative ways to design guns. I think the Mini is a great example of that. Part of the claim of our patent includes a micro switch along with a board. Not the switch by itself. It has to be inconjunction with the board and solenoid. Look at Eclipse, they use an optical switch. And WGP could not have patented the pneumatic ram because Glenn Palmer was the first I believe.

With regard to point 3, I believe that the only way your patents will "stabilize" the industry is by stifling innovation and stomping out all the little guys so that only a few industry giants will remain to churn out the same lame marker with new milling every year. The only difference will be that Smart Parts will claim it has "seal forward technology" and "improved range."

In everything there is out there, of course there is marketing. And you know what? That forward seal does help with the blow back. No doubt about it while reducing drag on the bolt by not having it on the bolt itself. Such as a matrix. The oring on a matrix bolt actually will hit the next ball in line as well. If you are using really brittle paint, it can crack it. Also, do we do the same lame maker every year with new milling?? You may be confusing Smart Parts with Dye. And Dye even bought there patents and engineered nothing originally.

And lastly, point 4. Similar to my statements about how I can't blame Mr. Kaye for losing his passion for the industry, I can't blame AKA for being stubborn. If you were an engineer and had some bigshot lawyers swoop in to tell you that actually, all that stuff you poured blood, sweat and tears into over the past few years was really theirs because you used a microswitch, well, I bet you'd be pretty damn stubborn, too. I don't know about you, but I'd rather burn it all to the ground than watch some corporate fat cats siphon off the returns from my hard work.

You are correct, which is why they failed in business. They were engineers playing business man. If they had an actual business person running the company, they would still make guns. Matter of fact, they still can make guns. There was never a C&D letter. Why do you think Aaron and his parent do not talk anymore??? Stubborn Engineers...

Yes, they have done quite a bit for the sport, and I don't believe any of what they've done has been positive. The companies that you drove out of business realized that for paintball to be successful, they had to work to make the sport as a whole bigger and better, because that attracts new players, which means growth, and growth means everyone wins. The Gardner brothers, however, have the typical corporate lawyer attitude that there's only so much pie, and profiting means taking as big a chunk of that pie as possible from everyone else by any means possible. Take a look at the industry reports in the past several years, and you'll notice that as innovation of new products stops (largely due to Smart Part's efforts) and every new marker is the same 15bps ramping electro in a new shell, player growth stagnates as well. It's pretty much impossible to prove cause and effect with the information that I have, but it's my impression that the lack of exciting new developments in the industry leads to a lack of excited new players entering the sport and a lack of old players still excited enough about the sport to stay. A large chuck of the responsibility for that lack of new development falls squarely in the lap of your company. You could argue that Smart Parts is just in it to win it and does what they need to in order to stay ahead, but what I see when I look at Smart Parts is a company that sees dollar signs instead of the potential to advance the sport. I'll keep voting with my wallet, which means that Smart Parts with their strongarm tactics will never see a dime of my money.

That is an opinion that you have that I am sure people share with you. That is for another discussion because you and I can go back on forth very lengthy on this. I think it is the industry as a whole is to blame, not just Smart Parts in short. The market is to blame as well. You and I should meet some time and kick back a few beers and discuss this in length because I do not have the time to write a novel... lol. Going to any scenario or big games this year?

Side Note - I think it is the lack of engineers paintball companies employ in their business personally as to why the innovation is being stiffled. We employ several full time, which is probably equivalent to the rest of the industry combined.

EDIT - Your theory is based on this. I do not like Smart Parts and the way they do things. The Economy in paintball in bad right now, so lets try and figure out a way to blame it on Smart Parts. That is very closed minded and you are off base with your reasoning. You are taking something and forming and opinion based on biased feeling. There are many other reason the amount of new players have gone down hill. I think it has a lot to do with airball fields. As paintball goes back to the woods, I think you will see a larger increase of new players as well. Field owners see money with people shooting paint. They forget that the customer comes for an experience and they fields that offer that experience are doing rather well. Some even having record numbers in years.

[punkncat]

Well I for one am pretty impressed with what the Ion has done for the aftermarket business' that have chosen to make parts for it. Now I don't know if they have to pay a kickback as it were to SP for making parts specific to that marker, but MANY people are gaining from the inherent "upgradablility" of that particular piece.

I fully agree that if SP hadn't patented things someone surely would have. It is fairly obvious that it remains profitable to "play ball" with SP. Dye is just one of many examples of a company that does not appear to be hurting for the relationship.
Like it or not, there is a lot of money to be made out of paintball, even still. I think more that just getting over it and getting on with it, a lot of people would rather concentrate on how "evil" it is, dwell on it, and make a whole lot more of it than it is. Instead of blaming poor choices or a downturn in the market, or stagnation of R & D, its ALL SP's fault that nothing new has come out, and that company (insert name) is not around or making (such and such) product.
Lol, you guys are like the Mob...everyone just has to pay for protection....

Now let me don my fireproof suit for "defending" you.

[RogueFactor]

Side Note - I think it is the lack of engineers paintball companies employ in their business personally as to why the innovation is being stiffled. We employ several full time, which is probably equivalent to the rest of the industry combined.

LOL. You mean the engineers SP ran out of the sport? You hired your engineers with the money you receive from the licenses??

Or did SP hire engineers because of claims like these:

[Smart Parts Sean]

Well I for one am pretty impressed with what the Ion has done for the aftermarket business' that have chosen to make parts for it. Now I don't know if they have to pay a kickback as it were to SP for making parts specific to that marker, but MANY people are gaining from the inherent "upgradablility" of that particular piece.

I fully agree that if SP hadn't patented things someone surely would have. It is fairly obvious that it remains profitable to "play ball" with SP. Dye is just one of many examples of a company that does not appear to be hurting for the relationship.
Like it or not, there is a lot of money to be made out of paintball, even still. I think more that just getting over it and getting on with it, a lot of people would rather concentrate on how "evil" it is, dwell on it, and make a whole lot more of it than it is. Instead of blaming poor choices or a downturn in the market, or stagnation of R & D, its ALL SP's fault that nothing new has come out, and that company (insert name) is not around or making (such and such) product.
Lol, you guys are like the Mob...everyone just has to pay for protection....

Now let me don my fireproof suit for "defending" you.

If this were the Nation... you would need more than a fire proof suit. I for one have been enjoying this discussion. And it has been nice not being bashed. I would like to thank the Automags.Org community for listening and have a mature discussion.

We get no kick back on after market parts unless it is a board. The reason we even make some after market parts is because the other stuff out was crap. Like our QEV. The clippard is what people mainly used and believe it or not, it is rate for 90psi and below use! We had to make something. We would rather the aftermarket companies make their money and come up with their own upgrades. It is better for the dealers and better for the consumer in the long run.

[Smart Parts Sean]

LOL. You mean the engineers SP ran out of the sport? You hired your engineers with the money you receive from the licenses??

Or did SP hire engineers because of claims like these:

I cannot watch vids at work. Not enough bandwith or sound. Actually, one of engineers was one of the main people who got the PVI shocker to work. If you could please give me a rundown on the video, I will be more than happy to respond.

[DevilMan]

Part of the claim of our patent includes a micro switch along with a board. Not the switch by itself. It has to be inconjunction with the board and solenoid.

This is the type of stuff that alot have issues with. It's like patenting the idea of using the microswitch in the marker ONLY if there is a ELECTRICITY involved. When in actuality, there is no way for the switch to work without. So putting a SWITCH in a gun is fine... and putting a board in a gun is fine... but it's SP who holds the marbles to put a SWITCH AND A BOARD in the same gun. When we all know that one without the other is just useless!!!

I mean, come on you have to at least see that much. It's like patenting a car... AND a wheel!!!! But then FORD coming up with the all magical combination!!!

I'm pretty sure that most of us here feel that that kind of "patent" infringement lawsuit crap is where SP took the nose dive. Patent the feedneck... and then patent a ball passage apparatus.... Then take it and say OH LETS HAVE A FEEDNECK THAT LETS BALLS GO THROUGH IT!!!! Just how I see it...

DM