Graver Max copy?

[Southern Custom]

Found this on ebay. Curious. It looks like a direct copy of the Gravermax. Anyone seen one of these?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Engraving-M...331?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43bc99269b

 

[mrthe]

Yes is a china copy, in some old thread was discussed nd someone that have try it say that is a poor copy and don't be compared with the GRS one if i'm not wrong

 

[Paulie]

The Craver Helper!!?? :beatup:

 

[Beathard]

That's what happens when patents expire.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

And they don't ship to New Zealand!!!.......Bugger.

I've seen them and tried them and they are what they are.............. Complete crap.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[rod]

As Beathard says,

You only have 5 years, usually, of a protected head start with our patented inventions, perhaps different times in other countries, then you get to stay ahead with the quality of your product.

It appears always best to have your 'patent pending' status last as long as possible, since at that stage of the application, the various 'claims' are not published, and it is riskier for the competition to tool up to use the design without knowing how many claims they can be sited on.

Rod

 

[monk]

does quality mean anything ? i've been using a gravermeister for well over 30 years. no maintenance ever, except for a belt change and the rubber seal had to be changed on the aluminum oil collection can. total cost may have been 10 bucks ! it's a shame that those who take other peoples' ideas, never seem to want to duplicate the reliability built into the grs as well as other manufacturers/designers.

 

[Christian DeCamillis]

Rod,

Actually, If the patent while pending isn't published then there is no potential claim against someone who may copy it . While the patent is pending if someone copies it you will have no potential claim against them until it's published and then only from that date until or if it does get patent approval. The protection as people refer to is for 20 years from the time it is submitted for patent not after it has been patented.
A patent is a learning document. The government gives someone 20 yrs of protection from copying it so they can recoup and make a profit so as to encourage people to invent new things without the fear of being copied as soon as their invention is finished.
Once the 20 year period expires then the idea become public domain. The patent is to written in such a way that anyone can then reproduce it if they will. That means that this is not a copy. It is legitimate and legal for anyone to make the old style of gravermax and sell it at will. If this company was making the new style like the g8 then it would be a copy.
Now all that being said I would imagine that this machine probably doesn't function as well as the old gravermax because the foot pedal appears to be a normal valve which will exhaust the air too suddenly and not slow enough to make it start smooth.

 

[rod]

Thanks for these corrections, Chris!

I have only patented in other countries, not the US, so I defer to your more accurate picture for the US. Twenty years is a pretty good lead time. I do remember our patent lawyer saying, in Canada, "pending" was a good holding pattern, but all of that was in the early 'seventies. The inventions were not anything to do with a new wood flute, it was a design for...wait for it... a garbage shredder/compactor!.. It actually won an environmental prize, but did not move forward to make me a wealthy man. There is quite a bit of heartbreak out there involving copyright claims, so I have never tested those waters again, since the '70's, particularly when I realized that in the US, garbage collection was sometimes connected with the mob. Now with flutes, I can even sell to Italy with impunity. Just delivered a flute to Cremona, and the Conservatorio want three more.

best

Rod