Steve,
maybe I have used the wrong word (ripping off)-I just meant they take too much money for it.
If it is patented (which I dont know) and if it is illegal I wont say that it is ok. It is not.
Maybe I have less emotion in this discussion because I run a german mechenical engineering company and we have to deal with things like this.
I can tell that even premium brands like Mercedes for example dont care if something is a copy or not as long as it is legal. They make decisions based on numbers.
We often develop/engineer concepts while bidding for a project and our customers (german premium car brands) just take the best from each concept, transfer that to each bidder and then take the one who does offer to realize this concept for the smallest amount of money.
If you explain a slightly higher price that you manufacture in Germany they will tell you "thats nice from you but we can not give you any credit for this)
We hold various patents with our company but we do know that a patent is no guarantee that something gets not copied. I have learned, that as a "premium supplier" one has to be one step ahead in Know-how and Technics to be able to stay in this position.
One more thought:
If the "copy-cube" is as good as the original, than I would think Arca Swiss charges quite a "good" markup (good for Arc Swiss, not good for us, the customers). So in the end some competition will be good to reach a more realistic price.
If the "copy cube" is not as good as the original Arca Swiss should not get any problem.
I dont think a good idea gives someone the right to charge life time premium price. It should give you an advantage for some time, but not forever.
(Good thing patents are only valid for max. 20 years)
maybe I have used the wrong word (ripping off)-I just meant they take too much money for it.
If it is patented (which I dont know) and if it is illegal I wont say that it is ok. It is not.
Maybe I have less emotion in this discussion because I run a german mechenical engineering company and we have to deal with things like this.
I can tell that even premium brands like Mercedes for example dont care if something is a copy or not as long as it is legal. They make decisions based on numbers.
We often develop/engineer concepts while bidding for a project and our customers (german premium car brands) just take the best from each concept, transfer that to each bidder and then take the one who does offer to realize this concept for the smallest amount of money.
If you explain a slightly higher price that you manufacture in Germany they will tell you "thats nice from you but we can not give you any credit for this)
We hold various patents with our company but we do know that a patent is no guarantee that something gets not copied. I have learned, that as a "premium supplier" one has to be one step ahead in Know-how and Technics to be able to stay in this position.
One more thought:
If the "copy-cube" is as good as the original, than I would think Arca Swiss charges quite a "good" markup (good for Arc Swiss, not good for us, the customers). So in the end some competition will be good to reach a more realistic price.
If the "copy cube" is not as good as the original Arca Swiss should not get any problem.
I dont think a good idea gives someone the right to charge life time premium price. It should give you an advantage for some time, but not forever.
(Good thing patents are only valid for max. 20 years)
"[T]he price for the cube is ripping off customers IMO?" Does that mean that you are opposed to theft, to "ripping off"? If so, how is it okay to steal AS's design?
I find this discussion very interesting. People who think it's okay to buy the clone, that they have no obligation to avoid a copied product whether or not it violates someone else's legal rights. (I don't know whether it does; I'm just a lawyer.) Yet these same people feel okay about defending their rights vis-a-vis photos or designs they've created.
Pick one: (1) I have no problem with buying the copy, whatever the legailty of its production, and have no problem with people taking what I've created for their own use without paying me, or (2) I don't want to be ripped off, and won't buy from someone who's ripping someone else off.
For what it's worth, the purpose of the patent and copyright laws is to encourage people to create by offering them legal protection for a period of time, by giving them a monopoly on their creation. That's why patented drugs cost more than generics. (Now there's something you might complain about: medicine might be even more essential than a geared tripod head.)
Steve