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Originally Posted by IggyT
So if Dano is covered by existing patent law (or at least they cannot be seen as infringing on the guy that makes the T*^%*^% OD) WHY did they come to some gentlemen's agreement to issue the V2 ?
It seems at odds with most ruthless business models we read about almost daily.
iggy
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Because they are nice? Or because even if they won, it might have cost less to settle than to pay the lawyers to sort it all out? Or because sometimes it can be mutually beneficial for talented individuals to work with interesting companies.
Part of the thing with basic sorts of guitar pedals, or guitar chords, or guitars or amps - is that the circuit or functionality of the thing and even the sound is one of the least important parts of it as a commercial product.
Other aspects like its appearance (the name, the case and the knobs and the paint job in the case of effects boxes) are an integral part of the whole product which gives it an identity, and the identity combined with the marketing and hype, and nowadays the viral youtube buzz - is what makes people want to buy that product instead of another.
The same way as a Calvin Klein T-Shirt is copywritable because it looks exactly how it does, the colour and pattern. Not because of how it keeps ypu warm or the way they utilise a certain gauge of cotton to let you perspire healthily in it.
A Coolcat is a totally different product from the Timmy, whether or not it
sounds the same or whether it shares the same circuit topology. You don't get a boutique hand made kinda look or that boutique vibe, you get what can be clearly recognised as an inexpensive mass produced pedal.
As Anchoret has said, lawyers have bashed all this out before and come to a set of rules for a reason. If you want to make up your own rules and uphold some absolutist purist level of intellectual property, thats fine too, but it might be nice to do it consistently. Start off by getting rid of and lobbying Maxon and all the TS cloners, then take issue with all boutique makers who copy Dynacomps, Ross's, TS etc etc, then prosecute the worst of the bunch - the BYOC and homebrew crowd who don't even put any money into the commercial pedal industry at all, and all the people who irresponsibly post circuits on the web for anyone to see. Then go through your house and check every pot, chair, telephone, car, carpet, door and wallpaper you bought is by the originator of products that function by the way they do.