Ruger LCR

[jesse485]

Originally Posted by gglass

The only problem there is that Kel-Tec has nothing to trademark. The design of the P3AT is completely open source... To borrow a term from the computer industry. In fact, pretty much everything Kel-Teck has ever produced is wide open for other companies to borrow. Just as pretty much everything everything within Kel-Tec firearms is comprised of borrowed designs. Why is it that Ruger is demonized for improving an open design, yet it is perfectly fine for nearly every reputable handgun maker to produce an open design like the 1911?

If you care to do a search of enforceable patents owned by Kel-Tec CNC Industries, you will find this:

Kel-Tec Patents

• D527,788 Foldable bayonet
• 6,928,764 Grip extender for handgun

I don't see a lot to protect here.

Yeah, so they actually didn't do anything illegal. They still ripped someone else's design whether the letter of the law was broken or not. And what exactly did Ruger improve upon the design? They made theirs a little fatter and added a manual side lock (what an improvement). At least KT fixed the false trigger reset issue. Like I said, the LCR is an amazing design, and it was their own. Not to bash Ruger, they are a decent company, it's just copying a pistol without improving it (then charging more for the copy) seems like a crappy move. But anyways, I don't really think JMB is gonna care about his trademark anymore.