Why dislike for Smart Parts?

[Arstron]

Actually Smart Parts bought out a company called PVI (Pneu Ventures Inc.) which had the patent for a electro pneumatic marker. I do not agree with how they have done things, but I dont care for their markers either. I will leave it at that.

[UTDragun]

I dont understand it, How it electronic fuel injection for cars not patented then?

[OneEyedPimp]

Can someone explain something to me? If SP owns the patent to Electropneumatic marker operation, then what does Dye, Bob Long, etc do so that they can continue manufacturing their markers? Or is it not that broad of a patent?

[a1killer]

oh it is but i think all the car companys just pay royalties to the owner of the patent

[personman]

Let me sum it up for you: Smart Parts realises that they make low quality markers so they make their money by suing the crap out of their competition and creating a monopoly on the electro market.

This makes the people who enjoy owning quality markers frusterated.

[Dayspring]

DYE- The shocker & matrix function almost exactly alike. SP knows this and "licensed" the electronic marker technology to them (in return, they don't get sued over the spool valve design.)

Bob Long- Look who owns them. National Paintball Supply. The world's largest paintball distributor. Would YOU want to piss off the 900lb gorilla that sells your stuff? I didn't think so.

WDP- since their end-run with SP, they are on the patent as well, and as such can continue making markers.

Etc- There have been some companies that are complying with the suit and licensing the tech. Others have shifted to mech only or super-mech guns- (AGD and PTP's pneu-frame). Some have closed up shop.

Can someone explain something to me? If SP owns the patent to Electropneumatic marker operation, then what does Dye, Bob Long, etc do so that they can continue manufacturing their markers? Or is it not that broad of a patent?

[snoopay700]

I hate them because they are money hungry, greedy, selfish ********, and their products aren't of that great of quality either.

[Pha|anx]

Quality Control



Everyone at times has bad customer service, that is understandable. Shipping a non- functioning product is not.

[Cow hunter]

shady tactics, super stupid patenets, low quality, well they have a HUGE monopoly and are doing uber successfully becuase they can make a cheap fast electro that they make unrealistic claims about(ion)........ well if i had that company, sadly enough, i would do the same thing sheerly becuase of how much moeny they make

EDIT; probably also because SP is part of the reason AGD is having problems, and they scared AGD to stop making the X-mag those ********, and the hAir from deadlywind was stopped cause they warned them, even though they claimed it was not pneu assisted or sumthin

[tyrion2323]

Lots of companies are forced to comply with intelectual property laws because SP had the legal rights to what they were using without consideration. People are annoyed by SP protecting there legally obtained rights.

Nah, it's more like people are annoyed that SP waited near a decade to enforce that patent, and wussed out by shutting down small companies that weren't really making a dent in their profits to begin with. If they truly cared about protecting their patent, they would have gone after Kingman and WDP.

they make quality equiptment

I'd rethink that statement. SP's quality control is notoriously lacking, from shipping faulty products to shipping products that simply didn't work. Their customer service is poor as well, and they charge customers ridiculous fees to fix problems that they created in the first place.

Correct me if I am wrong. What I get from these responses is this. Smart Parts patented the technologies they came up with for there markers. Other companies used the technology that was covered under these patents without permission, in return Smart Parts sued them to make them stop.

Is this an accuarte understanding?

Matt

It would be if SP had been actively defending their patents for the previous decade, and had been attempting to protect their design. They waited, however, until electros were "the only solution" and then decided to seize the market in a series of legal battles against small companies. It was obviously done in order to maximize profits and put a stranglehold on a large part of the consumer base.

Furthermore, they enforced an extremely general patent of all electronic paintball guns. This is not only ridiculous, but it's detrimental to the paintball community, as smaller companies can no longer get into the ring to put out new ideas.

Is it legal? Apparently. But that doesn't make it "right". It really comes down to whether you support the ideals of "I'm going to take the biggest part of the pie that I can, even if it means stepping on other guys." But, then, that's the way Americans seem to do business.

I don't subscribe to those ideals, and I don't simply chalk it up to the paintball industry "growing up". It's pissing in the community pond.

[Baby Huey]

All I can tell you about is my experience. I have two shockers and beat the heck out of them and over the 1 1/2 years I have only had one problem. It was something that I broke because I was not paying attention when I was taking it apart. I set up an RA # on-line and shipped them the gun (under warranty) and they fixed and shipped back very quickly. I love my guns and get compliments on them all the time(on speed, looks, and when I let somebody rip on the trigger) . Another time I lost a rear bolt bumper and they shipped me out one quickly at no cost (its only $1 anyway). Good luck and God Bless.

[paint magnet]

I never liked them before the lawsuit...I really dislike them now.

I was never impressed with their quality, and most of their designs have simply been knockoffs of other products which they either copied or *bought* (some would say stole) the rights to.

[FSU_Paintball]

Back in the day, Smart Parts had their patents rejected for being too broad. It sent a clear message; you can't patent the entire concept of an electro. So they narrowed the concept to cover their original shocker and not much else, and their patent was granted.

Years later, they started slowly adding in the things, one at a time, that had gotten the patent originally rejected for being too broad. By slipping them in slowly, they fooled the patent office into approving the same thing they had rejected earlier. They then took this new all-powerful patent of theirs and went to town.

Legal? Shady, but yes. Morally questionable? Certainly. Who's fault is this? The patent system's.

But if you're asking whether people's dislike of SP is warranted.... IMO, certainly. It's not that they were protecting their intellectual property... they intentionally snuck one past the patent office that they KNEW they shouldn't have been trying, and after years of slow additions they got it... by which time electros had become a fleshed out market, ripe for the lawsuits that were to follow.

Welcome to the new world of paintball... there aren't many "good guys" left. Every big company acts like this nowadays. It's a business.

[Dayspring]

THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK

1) Yes, AGD was served papers by SP. (Source- Tom Kaye Himself). Was it the ENTIRE reason they got out of electro markers? No.

2) The hAir trigger had NOTHING to do with Smart Parts. PTP had prior art/patent on the pneumatic trigger system. Deadlywind tried to work out a licensing deal, but the $ and court costs made it not worth it. (Source- Colin from DW)

Before you spread mis-information (which your post was full of) PLEASE get the facts straight.

probably also because SP is part of the reason AGD is having problems, and they scared AGD to stop making the X-mag those ********, and the hAir from deadlywind was stopped cause they warned them, even though they claimed it was not pneu assisted or sumthin

[Arstron]

THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK

1) Yes, AGD was served papers by SP. (Source- Tom Kaye Himself). Was it the ENTIRE reason they got out of electro markers? No.

2) The hAir trigger had NOTHING to do with Smart Parts. PTP had prior art/patent on the pneumatic trigger system. Deadlywind tried to work out a licensing deal, but the $ and court costs made it not worth it. (Source- Colin from DW)

Before you spread mis-information (which your post was full of) PLEASE get the facts straight.

Thank you for posting this, I was just getting ready to post somthing similar. Was AGD actually served papers though? I was thinking it was just a warning that they received...