<Rant deleted> I'm not going to change anyone's mind. But for the definitions of Copyright, Trademark, and Patent, take a look here:
uspto.gov.
Of course you can change peoples mind with arguments. I certainly began thinking about it more than I've done before.
However, I can't see that there is anything else than a patent that could be a legal violation when it comes to Leofoto versus the other brands. Yes, they have most certainly looked a lot at the competition, but they don't make direct copies. They are far from identical and the whole mechanical design more or less makes the possible variations somewhat limited.
Also; not veryone here is in the US. And we're not all fortunate enought to afford any product that we might desire.
I use a Leofoto tripod and ball head, and to me they strike a great balance between cost and performance. I would however not mind if they would have been a liiiittle bit more creative with their design of the ball heads.
My only gripe with the ball head is the limitations that are inherent in all ball heads; it will move slightly when you tighten it up. Partly because of the clamp itself (which can be better or worse), but partly also because you are applying force to the whole tripod assembly. And if the ground is not rock solid, the tripod will move.
For that reason I've been thinking about a geared head, but that comes with other limitations instead.