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<blockquote data-quote="JohnEJanowitz" data-source="post: 4284609" data-attributes="member: 584636">The thing to look at with the patents is the validity of purchasing them. I really like the eclipse style frame, but the patent was in 2001.&nbsp; I&#039;m not sure when it expires.&nbsp; If it is a 7 year patent, kinda makes it irrelevant now. The vendor in china will sell the frames as they were never paid for the tooling.&nbsp; Since they are in china, they can legally do this and someone in the US can legally buy them.&nbsp;&nbsp; The only issue is selling them in the US.&nbsp; My main market has really moved to europe where I can freely sell them without any patent violation.&nbsp; The tooling itself would cost from $15,000 to $18,000.&nbsp; So you could make a totally new frame for that cost.&nbsp; Considering there may only be a short time left on the patent, that it&#039;s not a unique design since they&#039;ve already used it, what is it really worth?&nbsp; We may still consider it, but wouldn&#039;t put much money into it.Also, since these are only design patents, even small minor changes to the look can get you by without any violation.&nbsp; The surround patent for the variable thickness surround could easily be challenged.&nbsp; JBL and others have done this for years.&nbsp; The idea of the bolt on and screw on frames is good in concept, not good in the way it was done.&nbsp; The bolt on idea was abandoned as it was too hard to center the coil. The screw on idea also didn&#039;t work so well due to tolerances.&nbsp; Tolerances in an aluminum casting are generally not very good.&nbsp; There are better ways to do a field replaceable motor.John</blockquote>

[QUOTE="JohnEJanowitz, post: 4284609, member: 584636"] The thing to look at with the patents is the validity of purchasing them. I really like the eclipse style frame, but the patent was in 2001. I'm not sure when it expires. If it is a 7 year patent, kinda makes it irrelevant now. The vendor in china will sell the frames as they were never paid for the tooling. Since they are in china, they can legally do this and someone in the US can legally buy them. The only issue is selling them in the US. My main market has really moved to europe where I can freely sell them without any patent violation. The tooling itself would cost from $15,000 to $18,000. So you could make a totally new frame for that cost. Considering there may only be a short time left on the patent, that it's not a unique design since they've already used it, what is it really worth? We may still consider it, but wouldn't put much money into it. Also, since these are only design patents, even small minor changes to the look can get you by without any violation. The surround patent for the variable thickness surround could easily be challenged. JBL and others have done this for years. The idea of the bolt on and screw on frames is good in concept, not good in the way it was done. The bolt on idea was abandoned as it was too hard to center the coil. The screw on idea also didn't work so well due to tolerances. Tolerances in an aluminum casting are generally not very good. There are better ways to do a field replaceable motor. John [/QUOTE]

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