Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/01/10

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Design Thievery
From: Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net>
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 00:12:33 -0500

At 08:12 PM 1999-01-10 -0800, Peter Kotsinadelis wrote:
>
>Legally you are right, but even if they owned Goerz let's just say they
>borrowed some of their intellectual property. Let's leave this one die.
>Fact of the matter is that within the optical industry people just borrow.
>Like Apple borrowed the idea of the MAC OS from Xerox, WIndows from MAC,
>etc.  Fact is only the strong survive, Leica, Zeiss, Microsoft, and perhaps
>even Apple.  


There is a huge difference between borrowing an unprotectable concept and
stealing a protected design.  Anyone can build a car:  the idea of a
four-wheeled, gasoline-driven vehicle is too general to be patented.  BUT
if started production of, say, an exact copy of the Ford Taurus, you would
find yourself in Court posthaste, as you would be violating Ford's patents.

Nikon and Canon STOLE Leitz and Zeiss designs.  Leitz and Zeiss tried to
sue to protect their rights and to receive compensation for their injuries,
but the Allies -- specifically, the Occupation Authorities in Japan --
refused, on the grounds that they wished to foster a civilian optical
industry in Japan.  The Allies did NOT "seize" these rights, and it was
acknowledged by the Allies that the patents still belonged to Zeiss and
Leitz.  They simply refused to allow the Germans to protect their rights in
Court.

This changed in '49 -- when Germany became independent again -- and in '54,
when Japan did the same.  Yashica thereupon stole Rollei's patents to
produce their 44 design.  Franke & Heidecke sued, and won.  Zeiss and Leitz
should have been afforded the same privilege a decade earlier.

Marc

msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!