Polyarmour said:I think you'll find Friknspit initially advertised as Speedplay replacement kits and only changed to lollipop pedals after being threatened with legal action. Lollipop pedals = Speedplay pedals for the purpose of this argument so that was just a case of more dishonesty. I notice he didn't use the exact same bearing, he used another bearing, why was that? As far as the bearings are concerned I don't think any of us are aware of the degree of customisation, design and application that this bearing had for this product. As a mechanical engineer I can tell you that bearing design and selection is a very complicated process. Sure Frikinspit says he found one that fit but it hasn't been through the testing that the Speedplay product went through. Does it comply with all the codes? He is using what he believes to be an equivalent bearing in a patented product. You can believe his line about it being a superior product, I'll reserve my judgement. He is doing it to make money from someone else's intellectual labours. I don't buy his story about helping out his mates and only selling a few here or there. That all changed the moment he went onto EBay. Unchecked it could have grown into a business selling hundreds or thousands, all the while destroying Speedplay's replacement parts business. I'm sorry but I don't have any sympathy for this intellectual parasite. What involvement did he have in the development of Speedplay pedals, a patented product? NONE! He's just doing what we accuse the Chinese of doing. If he wants to make money out of pedals he should invent his own.
Good of you to dodge Elagabalus' post. First "by your reading" Friknspit is guilty of contributory infringement. With that shot down, now you are whining about someone setting up a business that helps people repair and maintain their own property, and you are doing it by invoking the yellow peril boogieman. What that has to with someone selling standard bearings on eBay I have no idea, but I guess to people of a certain prejudice bringing up the Chinese somehow adds weight to their attack on a smallfry entrepreneur
So what if Friknspit grows his operation into a large scale repair business? Speedplay's patents protect the initial sale of their product. Once a customer purchases a set of pedals, Speedplay has made the money that their patents entitle them to. After that the pedals belong to the customer, and the customer is free to use them, maintain them, repair them, or resale them as they see fit.
If Speeplay wants to make additional money beyond their patents by offering repair kits or service then they have to compete in the free market. With their distribution channel and the ability to offer "official" repair kits/service then they should not have a problem unless they charge too much or offer bad customer service. But charging too much is exactly what they did. They jacked their priced up to the level that it opened an opportunity for others to offer a better price. Now they are using legal thuggery to prevent distributoin of a legitimate and legal product