A topic we should all think about, PLEASE READ!!

I want to first ask that we do not turn this into a political mess as there is a sperate forum for that. I felt it would get more exposure here as many do not visit the political forum and it is something we should all THINK ABOUT

Summit racing, Jeg's and Speedway Motors have ceased to do business with Speedmaster parts. WHY?
They were caught red handed copying a small American companies design going so far as to even put the companies name on the knockoff product.
As INFURIATED as I am at their audacity, As much as I want to further comment I will not as again I do not want to make it political.
the attached video explains how this bubbled up to the surface. it is somewhat long but the first 5 minutes are the most critical not only us but to our country as well.

Please think about this before buying cheaper parts and do not turn this into a political bashing thread but rather spend that time spreading the word. Doing so could be the beginning of "the shot heard around the world 🎯🍻

This will be in the unmoderated forum no later than tomorrow afternoon. And I'm probably being generous with that estimate.

Here again its a self created problem. Companies want to make more money, workers want to make more money and people want to pay as little as possible.

Everyone is up in arms over this but is it a hill to die on? No.

As much as I dislike seeing whats going on at the southern border I have also spent more then three years total doing volunteer work in Mexico and countries further south of that. Seeing the injustices ive seen and with us Americans having so much can you see how little this issue matters in the big scope of things? There are good people all over the world who to no fault of there own have no food. Is this fair? Is it on the same level as a copied part? No its not. But yet no one here seems to care about the hungry people of the world because it has no impact on there life here or in a personal way.

They steal or military technology, our personal data and we are dependent on many of the same for so much because we have been full of greed at every level.

We often get up in arms on issues that are personal to us or that have an impact on our lives but many need to step back and look at the bigger picture.

I dont think what has happened is a good thing by any means. Its 100% wrong. I would like to know if the guy who made the product that was stolen did the right things legally to protect his product or did he just put his name on it? If he skirted his responsibility as a businessman to do so I have a bit less sympathy for his situation.

Protecting a Product

If you invent a product that starts making money, there will naturally be people that will want to try to profit from your idea by copying your design. Therefore, after creating a product, protecting your design is of the utmost importance. Your design is what makes your product unique, and if you don't secure your design, it can result in severe consequences.

By protecting your design, you'll be ensuring that you will be the only person that will be able to profit from your product. Fortunately, there are several different methods you can use to protect a product design.

One potential method of securing a product design is to apply for a copyright, which is a type of intellectual property protection. The purpose of a copyright is to protect an artist's work, and you can apply for a copyright even if you never intend to publicly reveal your creation. Copyrights can protect virtually any type of artistic creation:

Books
Movies
Designs
Photographs

With a copyright, you can stop others from copying your work, whether it's a painting or a musical performance. It's important to remember that copyrights only protect the expression of a work, not the idea that inspired the work, which means copyrights only provide limited protections.

Most forms of intellectual property are automatically copyrighted, but you shouldn't assume that this fact means that your design will have protection. Even with a copyright in place, there are still ways that others can steal your idea. Also, if you don't formally apply for a copyright for your design, it will be nearly impossible to file a lawsuit after someone copies your idea.

Even though you will have some default protections, your work may not be fully secured, especially in regard to its design. For instance, if some part of your design isn't intrinsic to the final purpose of your product, this aspect of your design will not have protection under copyright.
Filing for a Design Patent

If you want to protect the design of a product, in addition to the product itself, the best idea is applying for a design patent. To be eligible for a design patent, your design should be:

New
Original
Ornamental

A patent is one of the strongest forms of intellectual property protections, and it can secure several forms of intellectual property, including how a product works, a manufacturing method, or concepts. The benefit of a patent when it comes to protecting a product is that the patent defends the underlying nature of the product, not just how it looks.

Before you will be granted a patent, you will need to fulfill several requirements. For example, your invention will be thoroughly examined by a patent inspector to make sure that it is patentable, and a patent search will also be performed to make sure your product does not conflict with a previously registered invention. You should also be aware that some types of inventions can't be patented.

If you've come up with a creative product design, you should absolutely apply for a design patent. Design patents can protect the design of a wide range of products, from cars to computers. Once your design patent application receives approval, you will have rights to your design for 14 years and will be able to stop other people from copying your design.
Trademark Protections

If you've branded your product with a symbol, word, or design, then you might also want to apply for a trademark. A trademark is used to identify a product's creator, and it can be an important part of marketing your product. In addition to standard trademarks, there is a type of trademark that is specifically used for the design of a product known as trade dress.

The purpose of trade dress is to indicate that you are the owner of a design and that your design cannot be copied by others without your permission. Like design patents, trade dress relates to the appearance of your product and not how it functions.

thank you for not moving it immediately. I am hoping that we can be adults and spread the word rather than ranting about it

Holy Crap! What nerve.

Good post. The video is worth a watch it's a good insight to companies that design and manufacture specific products. If nothing else it's a good warning to do some research before buying some of these products.
You wouldn't expect to get a knock off from a company like Summitt so good for them for stepping up.

A guy I've known since '89 has made a lot of $$$ with his line of automotive tools.
A couple are copies of someone else's, most are improved versions, and a couple are his own ideas.
Most of it he has made in India, and some gauges he sources from China.
He quality-checks all of it, and there's a % of send-back - more on the Chinese stuff than the Indian.
Been that way since before I met him. He says having the stuff made in the US would render him un-competitive.
His market is at the lower-price end, as that's the volume needed.
Near as I can tell, his profit margin runs 50-100% depending on the item, and a number of places retail his stuff, including Summit & Jeg's.
He's an adept & clever businessman, and has also made a ton of money in commercial property.
He registers original things as opposed to patenting them, because he says patent attys are too expensive, the process takes too long, and if someone changes one thing they can knock his stuff off.
Registering things is more protective, he says.

I'm not endorsing or slamming, just providing info as told to me.

I'm certainly open to being pleasantly surprised.

I encountered a similar experience year or two ago. I was looking for a mower blade sharpener as I have an acreage. I came across one that was interesting so checking AMZ there was what appeared to be the identical thing down to the part number for 110.00. Cool, I bought it. The designers website price was 195.00 and I thought he has dealers buying in bulk and are able to sell at a discount. Not unusual.
When it showed up it was not the quality I saw on the website. So I called him and he said yes it's being knocked off and I can't afford to fight them
I placed an order with him right then and sent the other one back for poor quality. I checked AMZ again today and the cheapest version was 43.00 with many others in the 60-75.00 range.
I have also become aware that one has to be VERY attentive to details in the ads as they are getting as bold in misrepresenting the item with their verbiage as they are with copying the designs.
Thanks to all for keeping this topic "clean" so it doesn't get moved where it will benefit them by becoming much less visible. I would also like to ask that you share to as many forums and social media sites as possible.
thank you all again

👏👏👏👏 We're not to tomorrow yet but I really hope it is still here

I'm OK with getting a cheap knockoff as long as that's what I intended to get. But they are sneaky about it like when they show a picture of the packaging for the real item in the ad but the description sounds iffy.

What's just as bad is there are also north American sellers who are taking advantage of people looking to buy American or they make it sound like they are the small time creator or manufacturer and they are selling the same Chinese junk at full blown retail.

Made it 🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻

Had Speedmaster not put Broader's name on the copies we would not be having this discussion at all. That was their big mistake.

It was probably more a miscommunication ... Speedway ... sends china the VB in question and says to copy it ... probably had 1000 made...

The VB shows up and they have the copied part logo on it ....

Speedway calls china company and asks [censored]? and the china co says so sorry , we will make them again without the logo , send another check ....

Speedway says screw it and sends them out the door ...

i am not sure what speedway or jegs did with their inventory, Summit says they destroyed it to prevent it getting resold by other means.

This involved more than 1 vendor. Speedway was one of them, They typically are not into the "hard core" race parts as other vendors. Who did what when and where to me is immaterial. The fact is they ripped of a small business mans design, made a faulty product, Used his Name, and HE is getting the calls as well as his name and product tarnished.

This is not an isolated case just one that caught some attention. I mentioned another example as well but they have not to my knowledge gone so far as using the originator's name.
This practice extends far beyond our little world of cars. High dollar Watches clothing, handbags, sunglasses and many more items.

I also found it interesting that the comapny shares the same address as Pro Comp and the also manage Speedmasters FB page. We all kow about the Quality of Pro Comp's 💩💩. It actually appears to be getting worse believe it or not.

Goes back to the old saying if it seems to good to be true if, it likely is. And a bit of research will likely prove it so.

The issue has only surfaced to this degree because the original manufacturer's name was put on the copies. If their name had not appeared there this issue would just be a couple guys complaining about a knockoff with nothing being done about it. Even the manufacturer likely wouldn't have done anything about it other than to verbally complain to anyone who would listen. Let's face it, there is a market for this stuff or a) people wouldn't make it and b) people wouldn't buy it. But Summit, Jegs, etc ALL carry and sell loads of it and are very well aware of it being knockoffs and the origin. But you don't hear them saying they're pulling ALL that [censored] off their shelves now do you? Only the stuff from Speedmaster - and ONLY because they made the mistake of putting Broader's name on the junk.

AND I firmly believe that a good number of the so-called "knockoffs" come off the exact same line as the name brand products - all of which are made in China.
Here are a some examples you can see for yourself: Log into Amazon and look at:
fuel pressure regulators - identical copies of Aeromotive units
brake proportioning valves - identical copies of Wilwood units
line loc units - identical to Hurst units including the switch!
fuel filters - also identical to Aeromotive units
and the list goes on !!

In the market rules should be made inventor of product gets paid for design.wether it be per item or lump sum

Golf clubs for sure. Only the QC is different. This is the "night shift" work.

When I had my employees, there were 3 rethreading kits int he shop.
Craftsman 50.00 new
mac Tools 125.00 new
Snap off 195.00 new.

They were identical in every way except the "sticker" on the lid. Even the intructions inside the box and the pebble finish on the outside were identical>

All made is the USA by the same company

imagine that ! was the "USA" letters separated by "period" marks ? [as U.S.A.]

Good luck getting the thieves in China to go along with that .

Lots of good reading on patents here if you take time to read it.


https://www.wipo.int/patents/en/faq_patents.html#:~:text=How%20long%20does%20patent%20protection,filing%20date%20of%20the%20application.



Ohhh well link worked on forabodiesonly so a quick google search will bring it up.

This is a huge problem in our industry. Companies who actually do their own R&D and innovate new technologies literally see Chinese knockoffs (usually with substandard components) within a few weeks of their product release.

It’s not uncommon to see spies at the annual industry trade show with cameras mounted on “selfie sticks” used as extensions so they can get clear images of a product’s innards.

Nobody shows upcoming innovations on the show floor anymore. Instead trusted dealers & associates are invited to private demo rooms, where we sign an NDA before seeing upcoming items.

Start with tariffs. Make it cheaper to pay designer.i know it more then likely won't happen
.

For years I've been saying that if I ever invented something worthwhile I'd patent it ... then immediately have my own knockoffs made !!

I just checked and yes they are. i actually called Snap off and queried their techs on it, they bounced me over to purchasing/ procurement. I talked to a really nice guy that said he could not answer if they were any better or not. He said they source from many places and there was just no way of knowing. I did appreciate his honesty

I will also say that Most major manufacturer's have Final test procedures of some type. There are normally also different specifications supplied by the end user (say comp cams)
During the manufacturing two identical parts made at the same time on the same machine may perform differently for a number of reasons to numerous to list. So we have Final Test. This is where the completed parts are subjected to a variety of tests under different conditions and then sorted according to their performance. For example a;
"Bin1" part is the highest quality and consequently is priced at a premium.
"Bin 2" is slightly lower on performance and priced cheaper.
"Bin 3" is middle of the road on performance and priced cheaper yet.
"Bin 4" is still functional but will fail if exposed to Bin 1, 2 or 3 spec's
"Bin 5" is a reject and gets recycled of scrapped

In addition, The end user say Ford, may require their own set of test parameters: In the case of hydraulic lifters it might be x amount of spring pressure with different viscosity's of oil under extremely hot and cold temps.

Blueprint engines may be buying Bin1's

Comp Cams may be buying a bin 1, 2 or 3 part.

the local parts house will likely be selling bin 4's as their house brand, TRW may be Bin 3's, Bin 2's and the Joe Blows engine kit supply company is going to go for the bin 4's and probably other stock crate engine rebuilders.

So, were the Snap off's bin 1's or even tested? the person I spoke with was unaware of any required testing with the orders he placed but said it was possible.