The ebay one is just a cheap knock-off with a carbon tube glued to a round wood handle and a fixed head. The Fujan lets you interchange tubes of different lengths, change the wood handle end, and change the head. And the Fujan is something we know to be a top quality product. As for the second one, my understanding is that the person who makes the copy took advantage of Steve by purchasing an original Fujan, then asked lots of questions about where the materials came from and how it was made, while pretending to just be a curious customer. Because of that, I think Steve would totally have a case if he chose to pursue action, but he's just a really nice guy who wants to make tuning levers, and not be involved with ugly litigation. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I hope people will choose to support Steve Fujan, the originator of the carbon tube design, and not reward someone else by purchasing a blatant copy (except for the head, which is still far inferior to the original Fujan design). This brings up an interesting question: Is the person who copied the design a member of the PTG? And if so, is the Code of Ethics (particularly parts #1 and #3) dishonored when something like this happens? In my opinion, it looks really bad if a sanctioned member of our organization uses dishonest means to copy the design of someone outside of the organization for profit. The fact someone else has brought this up prompts me to think that perhaps I'm not alone in feeling uncomfortable about this situation. On 2/6/2011 10:37 AM, Kurt Baxter wrote: > > I am curious how Steve Fujan feels about the likes of: > > ( > http://cgi.ebay.com/CARBON-FIBER-PIANO-TUNING-HAMMER-LEVER-SAVE-50-/220731445721?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33649e91d9#ht_1599wt_1026 > <http://cgi.ebay.com/CARBON-FIBER-PIANO-TUNING-HAMMER-LEVER-SAVE-50-/220731445721?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33649e91d9#ht_1599wt_1026> > ) > > And: http://www.tuningpindriver.com/ > > Isn't there a case for patent infringement here? > > >
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