IP Rights Apathy

Petunia D. Feeble

Petunia D. Feeble

I once waved at Stevie Wonder…
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jun 30, 2016
Messages
4,672
Has anyone else given up on keeping track?

I'm not saying I'd ever willingly, knowingly support a counterfeit knife manufacturer, but it's becoming too much of a chore to keep up with them.

This knife looks a bit too much like that knife. This one didn't credit a designer who made a similar handle design 20 years ago... Bleh.

I'm at the point where I'll let the companies handle it themselves in court. If I can't immediately tell from my own knowledge of the market that something is a clone then I'll just assume it's on the up and up.

I also can't be bothered with faulting a knife for its maker anymore. Tom Cruise seems a bit of a nut. I won't invite him the the bbq, but I'll still watch The Last Samurai. I won't let Michael Jackson babysit, but you're nuts if you think I'm skipping P.Y.T. when it comes on. Likewise, I don't like the way Anthony Marfione conducts himself, but the Socom Elite, like most other Microtechs, is a damned fine knife.

Except for QTRMSTR and Ganzo. They can both piss off. Especially QTRTURD. It's bad enough they claim to be made in the USA, but claiming to be made in Texas when you clearly import from China should be a capital offense.
 
I don't keep up with a wide enough variety of brands/manufacturers/makers to ever rely on my own immediate judgement if a knife model is a clone (homage...whatever). So if I get word that something is a clone, and I didn't notice it myself, I'm not going to dismiss the idea. I'll re-evaluate.
 
I don't know that its a matter of keeping track, or even if IP is something that I need to worry about necessarily. What I do look for is the overall reputation and conduct of the company. There are plenty of companies, plenty of knives, and we all have our own line that we will accept. Does this company seem to value their designers, do they seem to look after their people, how do they settle disputes? A company can follow all the rules and still not be ethical, and a company can make a misstep or two and still be overall a benefit to the hobby/industry.
 
If I know I know, if I don't know I don't know. Examples:
- Strider Knives. I like the look of the knives, but since I know what kind of person is behind the company I would never buy one.
- Ganzo. Bought two before I got informed enough. Gave the two knives away to coworkers AFTER actually sanding off the logos.
- QRMRAMRTARSTER, as above, person behind it, wouldn't support them despite thinking 1-2 knives are kind of neat looking.
- Will Moon Knives, well...enough said.

I don't give too much stock into plain rumors, but certain proven things I don't just shove aside. I wouldn't knowingly buy anything that I feel would leave a bad taste in my mouth but I don't go out of my way to try and find faults in companies and makers but if it's a new company I do a little homework at least beforehand.
While on the topic, the Reate Jack 2, with the two piece blade/chassis system, who made the prototype last year? I feel like the guys name was Kevin? I think it might be a situation where Reate would be good to just mention the idea. Or is it not an entirely new concept?
 
Hey Quartermaster doesn't clearly import from China, they try to hide it a little bit. They did prove to me that WE makes a hell of a knife, though. I'm thinking about getting my Mr Roper sent off to be reground so I can take advantage of Warren Thomas's good design and WE's good manufacturing without Quartermaster's idiotic Medford blade stock thickness.

That said, I'm getting pretty tired of all of the claims of IP theft because something looks similar. I can grab half a dozen knives from my collection that have the same generic shape, but nobody is saying they are knockoffs of each other. The outrage is super selective, and generally country of origin based, with US based theft being far less likely to cause a drink, and foreign theft of US designs being vilified like they set fire to the designer. Direct theft is one thing, but varying levels of inspiration do not cross the IP line. Similar is not same, and similar is generally legally in the clear.
 
I think everyone will agree that knives found on online sites like e-bay Amazon's third party seller's, might be suspect as being fakes.

But i found out while working part time over Christmas a few years ago, at a local sporting goods store, we sold a lot of costly knives Microtech Z.T.s Spyderco's Benchmade Medfords to name a few as examples.

The knife Dept. was not thought of as a major Dept. by the family owning this store, firearms were the main items, and any employee was allowed to sell the knives, i was told that you had to be on guard for the switchers, these people were very good working in a team to distract someone while being shown a knife and quickly as someone might distract you a switch of your stores knife will be made with a fake.

If it is not found this fake will be returned to the showcase and sold later to someone, with them not knowing they had bought a fake.

As everyone who has followed the knife forums, many of these fakes are really well made to look just like the real thing, it take some real close looking and checking to find out their a fake.
 
dkb45 said:
Hey Quartermaster doesn't clearly import from China, they try to hide it a little bit.
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It's actually crystal clear they do import their knives from China while claiming them to be made in Texas.;) Given an option, I won't even do business with a retailer that deals Jared West's faux American made knives.
 
way off topic but since ya brought it up......dont know Tom myself, he may be a nut? I do have an old childhood friend who works in the movie business in Hollywood and Georgia. hes worked for and with many big name actors on big films. he says Tom is fantastic to work for and with. he says Tom remembers everyone's name. treats people as equals. says hi to everyone and is polite. he says very genuine which is rare to nonexistant in Hollywood. wants to help everyone on the set. cares about his work....his words..... just a great guy to work for and with. he doesnt say the same things about other just as big named actors. he has many horror stories of actors I'd bet youd want to come over for a bbq.

on topic, it's a simple issue but also very complicated at the same time. industry peers and buyers help guide the issue on copying and cloning etc. ain't perfect but better than nothing.
 
I just buy from established knife dealers. No flea bay stuff and I resist buying these kinds of things from the big river site. If the price is too good for a new knife, it is probably a clone. But that's relative.
 
jbmonkey said:
he has many horror stories of actors I'd bet youd want to come over for a bbq.
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Exactly! Nobody wants the genuine, do-gooder who's overly pleasant and rambles on about how to better yourself. You want the Patrice O'neal types who make fun of everyone, eat all the potato salad and make the dumb girl from down the street cry.
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
Exactly! Nobody wants the genuine, do-gooder who's overly pleasant and rambles on about how to better yourself. You want the Patrice O'neal types who make fun of everyone, eat all the potato salad and make the dumb girl from down the street cry.
Click to expand...

Lol.
 
skyhorse said:
It's actually crystal clear they do import their knives from China while claiming them to be made in Texas.;) Given an option, I won't even do business with a retailer that deals Jared West's faux American made knives.
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They hide it a little, you have to dig to find evidence of them importing. If you paid no attention, it's hidden enough that you might not know they were made in China by WE. That said, the quality impressed me enough for me to not be super salty about the fraud. Real WE knives are even better too.
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
Exactly! Nobody wants the genuine, do-gooder who's overly pleasant and rambles on about how to better yourself. You want the Patrice O'neal types who make fun of everyone, eat all the potato salad and make the dumb girl from down the street cry.
Click to expand...
true only want the fun to interact with and watch types......boring nice folks ruin a good bbq real fast.:) if their a nutcase though...might make it fun....
 
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