BIG ouch time for SP....

[Furby]

http://www.68caliber.com/news/industry/story04594.php

[acoenfam1]

[B]SPLASH ONE, or in this case TWO!!

[p8ntbllr2001]

Biotch slap right in the f-ing face. muhahahahaaa. They have SP bu the balls now :smiley:

[El Pirata]

In some ways it's kind of sad that one company is going to lose a large portion of their income. However for the most part the paintball industry is a copycat industry. Use a Spyder as an example. How many different markers are there out there that are nearly identical inside and out to a Spyder? Look at DYE Sticky Grips. How many sets of grips are there out there with a different logo but identical material and feel to Sticky Grips? Barrel condoms, adjustable bore barrels, hoppers, guppies, the list goes on and on. Virtually all of the paintball industry is copying everyone else.

While I am glad that one copycat is being stopped providing that this is setting a standard for no more copycats in the industry. If this is not the case and SP is the only one punished then it is wrong to only punish one copycat. Just my 2 cents.

[splatman2k]

While I am glad that one copycat is being stopped providing that this is setting a standard for no more copycats in the industry. If this is not the case and SP is the only one punished then it is wrong to only punish one copycat.

THEY (stupid parts) started this, which is why it's nice to see them get bitch slapped. Everyone was doing just fine, they had to be dic*s and start suing people.

:nono: :owned:

[Presto333]

i think ppl look at this too much as the companies against eachother. When in actuality it isn't. People think that all the SP workers r dicks for suing ppl, and all the wdp workers are like saints. This isn't true. Cause behind the companies, the products, the happy faces of customer support, is the blood thirsty, money hungry lawyers. I think ppl should stop hating on certain companies and loving other certain companies because of this, when it was actually a lawyer who said "hey look, no patent, lets sue" because in any other industry thats how it works. People take advantage, take over, and create monopolies (certain computer industry). It just happened that the SP lawyers were the first cut-throat lawyers to remember everything they learned at Harvard. I'm an in no way saying i am supporting one company and against another company, through this whole thing i've tried to stay as nuetral as possible. Just my $0.02.

[splatman2k]

Yea, lawyers suck!

:thefinger

[winter001]

i think ppl look at this too much as the companies against eachother. When in actuality it isn't. People think that all the SP workers r dicks for suing ppl, and all the wdp workers are like saints. This isn't true. Cause behind the companies, the products, the happy faces of customer support, is the blood thirsty, money hungry lawyers. I think ppl should stop hating on certain companies and loving other certain companies because of this, when it was actually a lawyer who said "hey look, no patent, lets sue" because in any other industry thats how it works. People take advantage, take over, and create monopolies (certain computer industry). It just happened that the SP lawyers were the first cut-throat lawyers to remember everything they learned at Harvard. I'm an in no way saying i am supporting one company and against another company, through this whole thing i've tried to stay as nuetral as possible. Just my $0.02.

It is not lawyers who investigate patent violation and it is not lawyers who make the decision to sue. Lawyers only come into play when a company seeks to enforce their intellectual property rights. The people who run Smart Parts, the Gardeners, who were formerly busted by the SEC for an illegal patent scheme, are the ones who decided to sue. Lawyers are extremely expensive and very few companies just retain them to sit around and find people to sue, especially patent lawyers who make $500 an hour. Sure there is too much litigation in this country, but that is not entirely the fault of lawyers. Lawyers exist because they fill a demand, like any other service.

-Chris

[Presto333]

not true, there is many law firms that require a monthly charge and r there any time u need them. Lawyers aren't there just to sue, they r also helpful in seeking advice and stuff along those lines. and u said "It is not lawyers who investigate patent violation" which is also wrong, becuase there is even a special type of lawyer, yep u guessed it a patent lawyer, who all he does is investigate patent violations for a company that hired him. And when a very expensive patent lawyer, tells you that u should retain a patent and start sueing, u usually listen. Yes it is the SP executives that made the final decision, but if someone says u could make millions and create a monopoly in the paintball industry, you do it. Becuase that is wut every business executive wants, it just took longer for it to happen in the paintball industry.

[Vantage_TeS]

So I was thinking about buying a 2020 shocker, I think they will have enough time to work out the flaws..

WUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *rolls around on the floor*

[RaistlinsLegacy]

lol they already fixed their boards so they are still producing their markers and selling it... and i dont think given 15+ years would solve the problems with their products ;)

[Vantage_TeS]

Darn. Wishful thinking *pout*

[RaistlinsLegacy]

hahaha i'd prefer to see them get thrown off the face of the earth but oh well... i hope WDP goes after the "killer" patent soon AKA didn't deserve that fate, their products are some of the best out there (i'm still WDP 4 life but still...)

[Crazy4Paintball1]

I am glad that WDP won the court cases, but like Josh said SP fixed their boards and are still selling markers. I think that this whole thing with companies against companies was started by SP. Yes i am sure lawyers were involved, but the heads of SP had to give the ok for the lawyers to push for lawsuits, so yeah it was SP's decisions to sue people. I think things will go back to normal at least I hope so. There is too much politics now in this sport....and it is getting old listening to the bickering between teams, players, companies, etc.... Can't we all just get along????lol

[Crazy4Paintball1]

Yeah I hope that WDP goes back and reverses all the other court cases so that AKA and other companies can start making their guns again...competition between companies is good...because that means lower gun prices for us consumers.

[Vantage_TeS]

I think they all lost too much money to start again...

[Crazy4Paintball1]

Yeah they probably did, and it is a shame too. Besides angels the only other gun I will shoot is a viking and I wish AKA could make guns again.

[winter001]

not true, there is many law firms that require a monthly charge and r there any time u need them. Lawyers aren't there just to sue, they r also helpful in seeking advice and stuff along those lines. and u said "It is not lawyers who investigate patent violation" which is also wrong, becuase there is even a special type of lawyer, yep u guessed it a patent lawyer, who all he does is investigate patent violations for a company that hired him. And when a very expensive patent lawyer, tells you that u should retain a patent and start sueing, u usually listen. Yes it is the SP executives that made the final decision, but if someone says u could make millions and create a monopoly in the paintball industry, you do it. Becuase that is wut every business executive wants, it just took longer for it to happen in the paintball industry.

Yes, thank you, patent law is the field that I am more than likely going into. Monthly charges to retain availability of service do not cover costs of actually using lawyers, at least not in patent law where fees go upwards of $500 an hour. Prepay law does not come into this realm. Yes patent lawyers do investigate patent violation after they are retained to do so by a client seeking to enter litigation over a patent issue. It would be incredibly expensive to pay a patent lawyer to sit around and look at new products coming out and decided what is what, just as their full time job. A lawyer is generally retained after you decided to go after somebody. I hate to break this to everyone, but as big as the industry is getting no one is big enough to pay lawyers to hang around the office. The decisions made at Smart Parts are not a result of lawyers, they are the result of greedy executives who understand the patent game. The Gardeners are not new to it, as I mentioned a previous business involving invention patent submission was shut down by the SEC. In the case of Smart Parts, and I would argue the majority of cases (the vast majority), lawyers are brought in to advise a client as to the best course of action for a decision already made. Thats what lawyers do, they act as an advocate for a client. If a lawyer, any kind, is retained for another reason, it is more than likely for a situation that you have been placed into. Very few people call up a patent lawyer to BS with them for 500 hundred an hour about the possible applications of a patent to litegation you might possibly consider involving yourself in, unless you are seriously planning on involving yourself in some specific litigation. If you look at the history of the smart parts patents, the original patents and the patent additions, it is clear that their goal from the begining was to let the electronic marker industry develop and then bring suit once it had. If one was just seeking legal advice on their patent and whether or not it is a good idea to pursue legal action against violators, remember just seeking advice not having made any decisions, a good lawyer would more than likely tell you not to unless it is vital to the success or sustainablity of your business and from there whether or not it is a good idea based on your patent relative to the industry and so forth. A good lawyer simply advising his client would have told SP to settle with WDP in the Wisconson case and if you look at what is happening it seems that is what they did and the Gardners decided to go ahead anyway. I say this because of the speed of implimentation of new boards to meet with compliance of the decision. SP was ready to role with new stuff by the time the decision was issued, they new they were going to loose but had a score to settle. You can be sure a lawyer advised them of this. Lawyers are partially responsible for the amount of litigation in this counrty, but lawyers are a tool just like a bank is a tool, contrary to popular belief they do not make the decisions in a board room, but as you correctly stated they advise and what does someone offer advice on? A situation, lawyers are generally not retained for hypotheticals.

[winter001]

Yeah I hope that WDP goes back and reverses all the other court cases so that AKA and other companies can start making their guns again...competition between companies is good...because that means lower gun prices for us consumers.

What needs to happen is for companies like AKA and AGD to bring a suit against SP for wrongful suit, I really hope this happens, but the cost of doing something like that is sadly prohibitive. A class action suit against SP would be nice and this would definatly be something WDP could spearhead. Thsi would be ideal as that companies could recover many times what they lost in profit and litigation.