Patent on NR Canadian design ?

[essorx]

Hi there,

Does anyone know if ATRS and MacDef (and to some extend Kodiak / BCL) have patents or any kind of intellectual property protection on their NR upper / lower design ?

[my underlying problem is that I do not see any reason to invest in a BCL Badger / WK / ATRS MH / MacDef receiver set as they're all proprietary solutions, incompatible between one another...]

 

[220]

So what's your problem?

 

[essorx]

So what's your problem?

Anybody can manufacture an AR-15 lower/upper, including commercially, as the patent has expired. Can the same be done with ATRS / MacDef / Kodiak / BCL proprietary design, or can/will they come after people manufacturing "compatible" parts ? and thus the question, are the design anyhow protected ?

 

[45ACPKING]

Anybody can manufacture an AR-15 lower/upper, including commercially, as the patent has expired. Can the same be done with ATRS / MacDef / Kodiak / BCL proprietary design, or can/will they come after people manufacturing "compatible" parts ? and thus the question, are the design anyhow protected ?

so you want to know if making compatable upper is not going to infringe on patents?
isn't there a Canadian patent office for looking up existing or pending patents? Also don't companies have to disclose patent pending in their advertising during the pending process?
lastly, some of these designs are based on previously exisiting designs so I would think it's an open playing field for those particular designs..... but don't quote me on that.

I want to make a reinforced carbon fiber lower for my stag 10...….. should be perfectly legal for me to do I would think as long as I don't sell it.

 

[mileageman]

ATRS - not as far as I know, I asked Rick at one point in the past.
Macdef - no idea, but I doubt it.
BCL - BCL102 nope. other that have yet to be release no idea, but I doubt it.
Kodiak is a clone of a AR180b, which I believe the patents have expired on, just like the ar15

 

[essorx]

I want to make a reinforced carbon fiber lower for my stag 10...….. should be perfectly legal for me to do I would think as long as I don't sell it.

The AR-10 patent has expired, so the same situation as the AR-15 applies. My question was really focused on the flourishment of proprietary NR upper/lower popping up in Canada.

 

[essorx]

BCL - BCL102 nope. other that have yet to be release no idea, but I doubt it.

Technically, the 102 is meant to be based on the AR-10, but I trust BCL sh*tty QA to have wandered off the standard enough to be out of spec. There was a couple of report of incompatibility between brownells' BCL and BCL upper.

Kodiak is a clone of a AR180b, which I believe the patents have expired on, just like the ar15

Unless I'm mistaken, it isn't a straight clone, but an AR180b "franken-clone" to re-use as much AR-15 parts as possible while not being considered a variant.

 

[Stevo]

Technically, the 102 is meant to be based on the AR-10, but I trust BCL sh*tty QA to have wandered off the standard enough to be out of spec. There was a couple of report of incompatibility between brownells' BCL and BCL upper.


Unless I'm mistaken, it isn't a straight clone, but an AR180b "franken-clone" to re-use as much AR-15 parts as possible while not being considered a variant.

There is no "spec" for AR-10s, unlike AR-15s.

I'm still not seeing the point of your concern. So the small-frame MDI and ATRS receivers are different, they still both utilize the same parts inside.

 

[rambones]

Hi there,

Does anyone know if ATRS and MacDef (and to some extend Kodiak / BCL) have patents or any kind of intellectual property protection on their NR upper / lower design ?

[my underlying problem is that I do not see any reason to invest in a BCL Badger / WK / ATRS MH / MacDef receiver set as they're all proprietary solutions, incompatible between one another...]

They might, best go see a patent lawyer and do a search. It costs money.

SO you don't want to buy a NR receiver because its proprietary to itself? They take mostly AR parts and are quick change upper and lower so what more do you want?

And you are asking if the above manufacturers have patent protection on their products, and if not your hoping some other manufacturer will rip off their design so you could have another upper or lower that's compatible with the proprietary NonR design?

 

[TAC PRO]

isn't there a Canadian patent office for looking up existing or pending patents? http://www.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/eng/search/results.html?query=3d+target&start=1&num=50&type=basic_search&newSearch=1

The UPSPTO is more important. uspto.gov

Also don't companies have to disclose patent pending in their advertising during the pending process? No

###xx

 

[essorx]

SO you don't want to buy a NR receiver because its proprietary to itself? They take mostly AR parts and are quick change upper and lower so what more do you want

Not being locked in 3 years from now with a paper-weight if I want to build a new upper and the company I decided to buy from is defunc/don't manufacture the design anymore and has locked intellectual property in such a way nobody can take over.

 

[Stevo]

Not being locked in 3 years from now with a paper-weight if I want to build a new upper and the company I decided to buy from is defunc/don't manufacture the design anymore and has locked intellectual property in such a way nobody can take over.

So buy a spare upper now.

 

[essorx]

There is no "spec" for AR-10s, unlike AR-15s.

I'm still not seeing the point of your concern. So the small-frame MDI and ATRS receivers are different, they still both utilize the same parts inside.

As I just said, if I go (hypothetically) with MDI, 3 years from now, decide to make a new upper, if it's not manufactured anymore, I'm stuck.

 

[essorx]

So buy a spare upper now.

Kodiak doesn't sell bcg/piston, let alone bare upper. Now, I don't want to cater now for whatever I will decide in the future, I don't want to invest in a PROPRIETARY solution.

[and yes, I'm making a very clear reference to open-source and not being stuck with a proprietary vendor in my workflow. Here, the AR-15 design is technically speaking "open-source" being public domain, ATRS/MDI/Kodiak are all proprietary]

 

[Stevo]

Kodiak doesn't sell bcg/piston, let alone bare upper. Now, I don't want to cater now for whatever I will decide in the future, I don't want to invest in a PROPRIETARY solution.

[and yes, I'm making a very clear reference to open-source and not being stuck with a proprietary vendor in my workflow. Here, the AR-15 design is technically speaking "open-source" being public domain, ATRS/MDI/Kodiak are all proprietary]

Since I don't have a crystal ball and you want others to do the research for you, I guess we'll have to see what the future holds.

 

[essorx]

Since I don't have a crystal ball and you want others to do the research for you, I guess we'll have to see what the future holds.

`mileageman' actually provided a valuable answer, that's the point ASKING QUESTION in online forum. I don't expect you to be able to answer each and every question.

 

[mileageman]

My understanding of the whole patent thing regarding these non restricted AR type rifles that are not AR variants is as follows. It costs time and money to apply for a patent, it will cost you huge sums of money to defend against patent infringements. And for small business's like ATRS or Macdef it is just not worth it. And good luck building your carbon lower.