Crossbreed suing holstermakers ??

[Rob Longenecker]

Seattle 21 has it right.

Not sure where you got that information, but the "The Answer" Was not a full wrap kydex holster, it was a kydex shell, attached via screws to the leather backer (Which is indeed 2 layers). Their holster that was available for sale in 2002 most certainly was half leather half kydex, I am holding one in my hand as we speak.

Tuckable and adjustable belt clips were features of "The Answer". In the 2003 Tucker Gun Leather catalog they talk about the clips.

"The Kydex “snapover” clips allow you to adjust height and
cant to suit your preferences. The clips also allow you to
tuck your shirt over your gun, allowing you to conceal your
gun with a bloused shirt and no jacket."

Once again, those were available on a product for sale in 2002.

Once again, completely false. Those features existed from day one on "The Answer".


All of which existed before Crossbreed, making them invalid claims.

The way I see it, Crossbreed is to Tucker as Kholster is to Crossbreed.

Both "The Answer" and the CBST are without question "hybrid holsters" in the simplest terms, half leather, half plastic with half of the handgun in contact with Kydex, and the other half in contact with Leather. The point that I took away from the site before it mysteriously disappeared is that the patent as applied for in 2009 would cover a product that existed in 2002. You don't need that site to see it, just look at the claims of the patent.

What I'm most curious about is where you got your information. Is there some massive misinformation campaign out there that I'm unaware of? Because I feel like people are just making stuff up at this point.

This post is completely accurate in all details about the Answer IWB holster.
It was a kydex shell attached to a two-layer leather backing with adjustable, tuckable belt clips and preceded all other hybrid holsters.
(In the early days Comp-tac made the kydex for us. We've made our own kydex now for many years.)
The other innovation from Tucker is the option of a thin, permanent cowhide lining on the inside of the kydex shell. (95% of all Answers are ordered with the lining.)
While not every holster fits everyone's needs perfectly, the return rate for the Answer is very low despite the 90 day return guarantee for any reason.
I'm always available to answer questions if needed.
Rob
Tucker Gunleather
rob@tuckergunleather.com
800-308-6628

 

[chezuki]

This post is completely accurate in all details about the Answer IWB holster.
It was a kydex shell attached to a two-layer leather backing with adjustable, tuckable belt clips and preceded all other hybrid holsters.
(In the early days Comp-tac made the kydex for us. We've made our own kydex now for many years.)
Rob
Tucker Gunleather

Rob, having a previous business relationship with CompTac, how do you feel about the MTAC holsters? They seem closer to the "The Answer" than anything Crossbreed has made. (though to my knowledge, CompTac makes no claim to exclusive rights to this style holster and has never sent out cease and desist letters to their competition like Crossbreed has.

Both "The Answer" and "MTAC" IMO show quality and actual craftsmanship and that's what I spend money on.

 

[Rob Longenecker]

Comp-tac does their thing and we do ours. Their entry into the hybrid holster market came as a surprise at the time, but we adjusted quickly.
We operate as if we're 100% responsible for our own success or failure, despite any circumstances we encounter. It's the most powerful point of view for us to have.

 

[chezuki]

Comp-tac does their thing and we do ours. Their entry into the hybrid holster market came as a surprise at the time, but we adjusted quickly.
We operate as if we're 100% responsible for our own success or failure, despite any circumstances we encounter. It's the most powerful point of view for us to have.

Right on. As many here will tell you, I am, and have been for quite some time, a huge fan of the MTAC holster. I've owned one for every gun I've ever carried and recommended them to a great many people. To be honest, I'd never heard of "The Answer" or even Tucker until this thread. I'd really like to try out one of those holsters.

 

[HeadlessRoland]

So, to be clear, making a holster consisting of Kydex-T and leather of any design somehow falls under this Crossbreed company's patent rights?

Not only do I remain skeptical, but also very worried. If I were to have made my holster right here, with Kydex-T included, I would have run afoul of some intellectual property right?

So how do other hobbyists and entrepreneurs and leatherworkers continue to exist? Am I really to believe no one had thought of the idea of melding Kydex-T with leather in their holsters before anyone in this thread claims to have done so?

 

[chipbennett]

It reminds of the story (true or not) about when Bill Gates was trying to come up with a Graphic User Interface (ultimately, Windows) to rival what Apple had on the Mac. This is supposedly a conversation between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates:



Oh, and by the way- Old Faithful sold me the materials and directions, but I made it...back off, Crossbreed:

I love my Old Faithful holster.

I think I'll buy another one, just to support them - and then send the recepit to Crossbreed, and tell them they can take it and find a short pier to take a long walk off of.

 

[chipbennett]

Also, FWIW, I don't believe a design has to be a completely original idea to be patent worthy. I believe patents can be received on IMPROVEMENTS to already existing designs as long as those existing designs aren't currently covered under a patent. A good example would be the numerous improvements Dillon Aero made to the GE mini-gun after the patents had expired. Dillon, by improving a design that had previously been patented, and then patenting the improvements it made, has essentially cornered the market on the M134/MK44 minigun.

IANAL (patent law, or otherwise), however: improvements that meet patentability requirements (which for improvements, usually focuses on being non-obvious, since all other aspects are already proven to meet patentability requirements), would, I assume, only be patentable for the improvement itself. An improved version of an existing product could not claim patent protection for the whole class of (improved and non-improved) products.

So, I would think that, in order to be valid, Crossbreed's patent would need to be tightly constrained to the improvements it made over an existing product already on the market. As such, it might not be wise for them to push the issue, and have their over-broad patent revoked.

 

[cosermann]

URL referenced in the OP no longer appears to be available.

 

[chezuki]

URL referenced in the OP no longer appears to be available.

Says it's down for scheduled maintenance. Doesn't sound permanent.

 

[cosermann]

Says it's down for scheduled maintenance. Doesn't sound permanent.

Still down.

 

[Roadie]

Apparently the owner of that website "came to an agreement" with CrossBreed and took it down..