Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/04/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 08:53 PM 4/25/97 -0400, Paul wrote: >Another thing, which I'd be interested to hear Marc's comments on, is how >extensively they were distributed since they violated international >patents. Were these cameras sold in Europe, for instance? Simple answer. Germany and Japan were BOTH conquered nations under military governments. The Allies would not allow Zeiss and Leica to protect their patents by legal action. Anywhere. Nikon WAS restricted from selling in the US for a while -- their 24 by 32 format resulted because of some hairbrained regulation we adopted in the mid 1940's preventing the import of 24 by 36 cameras from the Orient. Once Nikon responded by changing the format, we realized how silly this was, and relented. I have a recollection from a fellow I used to correspond with in Chile that Chile, Brazil, and Argentina would not allow Nikon and Canon to sell there until the mid-1950's, out of respect for German patents. But that is a third-hand story and I've never researched the point. Marc Marc James Small Cha Robh Bas Fir, Gun Ghras Fir! FAX: +540/343-7315