You guys are right, we need more and stricter patent and copyright laws out there. That way the poor companies can rest on their laurels and rake in the profit and those mean old competitors can't dare challenge them.

Face it, the patent system is broken and if the companies tried to rely on the courts to decide, it would never be resolved.

Be practical. Even if the parts that are made by the top tier companies had performance to match their price, there is always going to be people willing to pay slightly less for something that looks similar, irrespective to performance. If everyone only bought the highest quality product, regardless of price, there would be less competition and therefore less innovation as the marketplace would consist of a single product.

 

We met with Voltex last week and had discussed these type of problems and what would be a better method of prevention for replicas. One of the product lines we were most concerned with was their 2008 carbon accessories for the Evolution 10, and their inability to sell in the US due to the large amount of copies.

In their defense they had decided to drastically reduce the prices and will be posting new rates at the Tokyo Auto Salon of next year.

We will update everyone once this new price drop goes into effect.

This will apply to the following:

Evolution 10 Front Side Spoilers
Evolution 10 Side Spats
Evolution 10 Rear Gurney Flap
Evolution 10 Hood Air Vent
Evolution 10 Fender Ducts

 

You can't stop knockoffs though. Even Coke has legal knock offs, Pfizer has a lot of knockoffs circulating, patent laws simply cannot cover everything without stiffling a lot of development.

 

You are correct, and that is what I was referring to earlier when I said that it is a shame. It is a shame that there will always be someone looking to steal the ideas of others and be able to bask in the glory and benefits that they were undeserving of to begin with.

 

Bottom line is the almighty dollar! If people can buy a cheaper product they will. It is the nature of the beast. We are all consumers and we all want the better price. I understand your concern with thievery. If the idea and design were prized then they should have applied for a patent. Yes, the patent system is flawed but you can always sue your competitors or they can come up with a better marketing strategy and better prices.

Overall I agree with your ideas and concerns but in this case I would blame the system.
There is an ideology of consumerism to be questioned here.

 

im sorry...but there is nothing wrong with copying parts. These "JDM" suppliers and vendors are selling their parts at a price that is just not suitable for how much they paid for actually making it. The R&D part or any other extra "work" that is put into testing it does not mean that they can jack up the prices. Oh, and believe me that they actually dont put all that time u think in R&D. This goes for many other companies (im not trying to single out voltex). I am in the process of designing, testing, and building a product for the evo VIII and IX which really is simply an improved version of another company's product. Do i feel like a dick for doing it? NO, because everyone in this world is trying to survive and make a living somehow. If you have the money to spend on this obsession with cars and can afford to buy the top name brands then do it (but ill call u stupid all day long). All im saying is that there is a difference between ebay products and copies. That Seibon hood is a very good product and should not be a reason why Voltex should discontinue their hood. If anything voltex should get off their *** and do some more "R&D" and make more products.

Oh and this also goes for parts made in America. Yes i mean you AMS, Buschur....ect. I know how much it cost to CNC parts or to get steel in bulk because i have been there and done that. Does it mean you should Overprice your parts? No, thats how you **** others off and encourage them to make copies. Dont even get me started on some of these hybrid turbo prices. So far the only company i can really say im happy is here is ETS.


and well put EVOlutionary

 

Damn Son , well put kudos, ITs nice to know that we still do have some people out there that will speak their mind and see all the BS

 

While I agree that a company that spearheads the invention and production of a part only to sell it cheaper is bad business. It is just that; business. If a company wants to stay competitive then they must come up with continuing marketing techniques that appeals to the mass consumers. Continuing innovation is the key to maintaining the market share. Taking a product and backwards engineering it to copy it and produce it at a cheaper price is nothing new. It has been done and will continue to be done in almost all countries. It sucks for the originating company but they must realize that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. If they want to hold onto the market share then they must continue manufacturing innovative products that appeal to the consumers while at the same time keeping it at an attractive price.

 

^ exactly

 

I think there is a way. It will take some time and will eat into some of the profits, but in the end, the innovator will win. Just beat them at their own game. When a knockoff appears, have the original inventor match the knockoff price. From customer point of view, they win for a while as they can get the real part for the price of a knockoff. The inventor wins partially and looses partially as they get to take away a sale from the knockoff company, but they do not get enough to recover their investments costs as fast. However, if multiple companies do this strategy and apply to all their products, the knockoff companies should dwingle down as they would have learned that they will not win in the long run and will look for other areas where to steal things from. New knockoffs should also be reduced since they will not want to invest in making molds, etc, for such a short time since they will know that a innovative vendor would match their price immediately making it really hard to sell anything at all.

The tuner industry is not the only one facing this. Check out the pharma industry as an example. Do you buy the generic or buy the original? Same thing but on a way larger scale, to the point where the governments and insurance companies force people to buy the knockoff instead of supporting the innovator and investing in future medicines. Some companies are considering doing just what I stated above, investigating strategies to get into the generics business to make some profit instead of no profit at all after their patents expire...

 

Preach it Brother!

We at EPM are in this same situation, sort-of. We knew all along that other companies would come along once they saw how we were successful with our product. However; we planned for this. We are a very small company, just like Voltex is small. You have to plan for copies or for market saturation. Innovation is key to staying alive and to staying prosperous.

Don't get me started on Cheap Chinese knock-offs. Every time you go to WalMart you are helping the Chinese communist government gain more power and solidify their power base. We are ever so slowly but steadily building up another countries way of life. And we are doing this by buying cheap copy cat products. However; be it led contaminated children's toys, or by trying to save money by purchasing fake products. What we fail to realize is that we are in-fact destroying the USA's ability to be and/or maintain our industrial production. You hear of the term offshoring jobs, by moving manufacturing plants overseas. But today we are going a step further by offshoring our ideas, our innovation. Just as the old USSR stole the plans to the space shuttle these chinese companies are blatantly stealing plans, designs,etc and then turning around and selling these products to us the USA consumer. We choose to buy the cheaper product but unwittingly are buying the Cheaper made copycat; which is ruining our manufacturing/production jobs.

We even have USA companies that make their products in China and then ever so slightly add to these products and then rebrand it as USA made..shame shame shame....!....

If one day in the near future you want to be a nation that is dependant on China to produce all of our products; then do nothing and become a dependant. If on the other hand you want to see the USA stay strong and get away from foreign dependence then you should choose to purchase/support USA companies that are forward thinking, and bring USA jobs to your sates/cities.

Ok I'm off the soap box..sorry for my rant, but this hits close to home, or my livelihood to be more exact.

 

i bought a SEIBON RALLIART REPLICA CARBON FIBER LIP from you guys.. isnt that a little hypocritical?

and might i add.. the fitment was effin horrible.. the worst $500 i ever spent..

just think its kinda shady that you guys would post a thread like this and still sell their stuff after

 

I def agree but at the same time, it almost would seem like your saying companies like AMS and Buschur are stealing biz from the Japanese companies, but frankly i would rather spend my hard earned dollars with a company in our country, people that do things to make the sport what it is today. Maybe I took it wrong but either way, sucks. They should patent the designs!

P.S. Don't you guys sell the knockoffs...lol Guess everyone really is trying to "reap" the benefits ehhh?

 

This is how things work around the world. It was just horrible to see just how bad a knock off can get when I was in Iraq. Business must constantly innovate to survive.

Honestly, if a US company makes me a quality part (Buschur, AMS, Cobb, Perrin), I will not shed a tear for an foreign company. Should all JDM companies stop existing today, there will be creative individuals in other parts of the world who would fill the demand because everyone wants to make a buck. The market will demand it. Just look at ECUflash. So am I a crook because I want an open source program instead of ECUtek?

Anyway, my point is that you have to innovate to survive. If they don't someone else will.

 

this kind of thing happens all the time with every product imaginable(ie: not motorsport related) big whoop.

at least thats what most consumers would say.....