Hi there,
you cannot patent a letter in the alphabet but you can get what is called a "design patent" on a three-dimensional object that has not existed as a commercial product before. Thus the shape of a piece of formwood and it's dimensions with the idea of using it as a headphone holder and having the corners in just a certain way can be a design patent. Now if you did make another headphone stand that is maybe similar but nobody would confuse the two of them as one is made of wood and the other one is acrylic of made of metal the design-patent does not cover this. However, the products here are sloppy copies of the original Sieveking Sound stand and that one does hold a design patent.
And YES: e-bay does take them down whenever we ask them to. Unfortunately the Chinese copycats are back a few days later and we have to start all over again. I also have to say that e-bay is quite responsive in this issue once they see the design patent declaration and it is painfully obvious that these are illegitimate copies.
Jan Sieveking
JanSievekingI am sure ebay is quite responsive. Do a search yourself. As of 16:30 GMT Aug 23, at least a dozen listings, including one proudly shipping from USA.
Get your legal team to work!
Tsk Tsk Tsk,
so did Mr "not a person who likes hitting other people over the head with legal action" send the same letter to Ebay?
Wonder what the Ebay lawyers think.
Hi Team,
Early this morning we received the below email from Jan Sieveking of Sieveking Sound.
Out of respect for Jan’s requests, we’re canceling this drop. To be clear, Massdrop does not manufacture these stands and we’ve forwarded this email to our legal representatives to review it’s validity.
We’re sorry to do this but all orders will be cancelled and you will not be charged.
Thanks for your support and patience while we work to source an alternative product at a similar price point. As well, we encourage the community to start a poll for any products that you believe fit this criteria.
We appreciate all the support the community has shown.
“Dear Sir or Madam,
it has been brought to my attention that currently Massdrop is selling an Omega style headphone stand.
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/wood-omega-style-headphone-stand?s=Omega
This is a direct copy of a trademarked design and Massdrop is offering a counterfeit product manufactured in China. I have attached a simple PDF print file with the registration at the OAMI which is the international body taking care of design patents like this one. As you can see it is valid international patent that has been filed in 2009 and is valid till 2019 and we will likely prolong the patent after that.
This is to inform you that I see your commercial offer of the Chinese counterfeits as an infringement of this design patent and that I am ready to take legal action with our legal representation in the US if you should continue this offer. I am not a person who likes hitting other people over the head with legal action and thus I am writing to you first to give you a chance to simply stop this before this becomes an expensive mistake for your young company.
I have no problem with you ending this purchasing matter with a statement that it has been brought to your attention that the design is patented internationally and thus the import and sale of the fake Omegas is not legal.
With regards from Germany,
Jan Sieveking (Designer of the Omega and Owner of Sieveking Sound GmbH & Co. KG)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sieveking Sound GmbH & Co KG | Plantage 20 | 28215 Bremen | Germany
Tel: +49 (0)421-684893-0 | Fax: +49 (0)421-684893-10
Bank: Sparkasse Bremen | BIC: SBREDE22 | IBAN: DE55290501010010651685
http://www.sieveking-sound.de | kontakt@sieveking-sound.de
Geschäftsführer: Jan Sieveking | Firmensitz: Bremen
GmbH registriert beim Amtsgericht Bremen: HRB 22002
--------------------------------------------------------------------”
I've read through the entire thread and I have to say that I'm confused about what to expect. There were many complaints of specific quality control problems, but also a response from MD that cancelled the whole batch and provided refunds (or discounts for those who decided to keep them).
So, in order to set proper expectations before I decide to join the drop or not, I hope someone can provide some insight in better detail. Specifically, should I expect any of the following problems from a typical, "acceptable" example:
- Wobbly base
- Many tiny white spots where the wood was stretched
- Uneven sanding causing noticeable dark patches of stain
- Rough spots in the finish that catch on fabric and might tear bits off
- Finish is not glossy nor smooth like the marketing photo
Some of these are not so important to me, but others are, so if someone preferably from MD can tell me what would be acceptable or not when they do their QC pass, I would appreciate it. That way I could either buy in confidence, or take a pass and avoid being an unhappy customer.
Actionable_MangoQC of our latest batches has had no noticeable problems. We check them before they go out- obviously with any product like this, there is variation in quality but it's pretty tight now. Previously, we took what came in and just instantly shipped it, now we discard the ones that are unacceptable.
Realistically if you're not happy with it, you can pay to ship it back to us and we'll ship you a different/second one.
Some from the earlier batches (6-12 months ago) were completely unacceptable, and those are older posts discussing/relating to that. (i.e. ignore posts that are from 4+ months ago, they relate to a different manufacturing and QA process/batch)
Like Moonfire said the peeling on the LCD2's was because the OP was using hair product which combined with hot weather softened the leather to the point where it deteriorated and it wouldn't have mattered what they were placed on it still would have 'peeled'.
As for the headband stretching, they are 99% exact same dimensions as the Sieveking model and I haven't read any reviews on Sieveking model complaining about stretching the headband. Has anybody actually had thier headband stretched?
I bought two previously and they are great value for money. Not quite the finish of the real thing but not the same price now is it?
not only do they damage ear pads they also damage headbands, best to buy something that doesn't stretch headphones and rather they just rest on top of the stand than clamp onto it.
i would avoid and use a stainless steel mug tree if you want a cheap stand