Patents ran out years ago dude ....
What say I? I say do we really give a rats A$$ if they do or don't
BTW guys, the Chinese are shafting and undercutting us; but make no mistake, they are not breaking the laws of international trade to do so.
Ivor
Patents have a certain lifespan and do expire. Once it expires you can make the product without paying any royalties. Copyright is different and can be renewed.
You think theres a coincidence there are hundreds of companies making the 1911 in US or the AR-15 variants? Notice they dont call them AR-15, as that name is Copyrighted to Colt i believe, but the actual original Armalite M16 patent has expired.
So no, Norinco aint paying #### to anyone for manufacturing 1911s, and even if the patent WAS valid, they would still make them, they just wouldnt be able to sell them here, IF, the original Patent holder took them to court and the Canadian courts sided with the patent holder.
It's my job as devils advocate to provide juice to keep the rumor going; good ol' Mr Can Am is the only one to provide some proof otherwise......he might be in a better position then all of us to dispel it thoughStill not seeing anything that relates to Norinco paying royalties to anyone for their guns.
most of the machines at the 1911 plant have Maos face cast into them.
As of 2013, the pistol is made under license instead of copying with Colt manufacturing machinery, due to an agreement between Norinco and Colt in order to stop Norinco from producing the Norinco CQ rifle. Importation into the United States was blocked by trade rules in 1993 but Norinco still manage to import the weapon into Canada and successfully adopted by IPSC shooters, gunsmiths and firearms enthusiasts there because of the cheaper price of the pistol than the other M1911s.
That's a little interesting, isn't it?
Ivor
Note: not that Wikipedia is 100% accurate though.




























