Mount patents

[P3D Harry Poster <hposter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dennis asks...
>>>Are these chinese clones legal?  Aren't they violating the RBT patent 
design for their mounts?  Or perhaps RBT didn't patent them?  Any word 
from RBT on this?  I suspect they would be much cheaper then the official 
aus Deutschland originals.

I looked at the RBT's at Rochester and noticed that no patent numbers were
given, anywhere. It can't be expected to appear on each mount, but if my
legal experience is correct, it MUST be on each package. I would assume
there is no patents, and if there are, an infringer could get away in court
because the LEGAL notice did not appear anywhere.

Of course, I also notice that on the EMDE mounts, no word of a patent. Same
with the Realist, Sigma, Easymounts, Pego, and all the rest I've
accumulated. (Only Realist mentions: "Trade Mark Registered"). I would guess
that in the 1950s, these mounts were all just variations of each other, and
if the designers took years getting patents, the craze would have been over
before any sales were racked up. So legally, I would expect that all the
makers lost patent rights, and all but Realist lost trade-mark protection on
their brand name, both because the notice is not provided, and because in
the 1960s-1970s the names were all dormant (except Realist), and up for grabs.

                     Harry Poster


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