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Doesn't bode especially well for a settlement anytime soon, but keeps the status quo functioning until the case is heard I guess? Technically you can't buy parts for the season with out a "builder"
And in breaking news... ISAF just approved the change to the ILCA Fundamental Rule which was was passed by Laser Class members in 2012. The amended rule allows ISAF and ILCA to approve Laser builders who have the right to use the Laser trademark, even if they are not approved by Bruce Kirby or Bruce Kirby Inc.
http://www.sailing.org/news/34222.php
ISAF and ILCA have taken steps to assure the uninterrupted supply of class legal Laser brand sailboats around the world. This includes making newly designed ISAF plaques available to all the current ISAF and ILCA approved manufacturers of the Laser dinghy in accordance with the ILCA class rules.
And ILCA has also made their position a little clearer
http://www.laserinternational.org/info/statementfromtheinternationallaserclassassociation
Will it come down to who has the deeper pockets to keep up the fight ?
And in breaking news... ISAF just approved the change to the ILCA Fundamental Rule which was was passed by Laser Class members in 2012. The amended rule allows ISAF and ILCA to approve Laser builders who have the right to use the Laser trademark, even if they are not approved by Bruce Kirby or Bruce Kirby Inc.
http://www.sailing.org/news/34222.php
There are more than just Purple and Sailboats you can get sails from. We bought a sail and top section from Guildford Marine earlier in the year in their sale (20% of everything in the shop)
I think ISAF and ILCA might just have killed the class. To have come to a working arrangement regarding the Torch, etc. would have helped recover from the disaster of the last few years. If this were happening in the UK I would expect Kirby to take out an injunction against ILCA/ISAF/LPE to stop them building the boat with immediate effect - but who knows what may happen in the US.
They (ISAF/ILCA) have made a bad situation (with light at the end of the tunnel) into a complete disaster that had a great solution they have mostly closed-off. And ILCA are meant to be working on behalf of the membership!!!
Ian
Disagree. They just saved the class and its about time.
Nobody is stopping you from buying a Torch, or Kirby from making one. Go ahead, buy it and enjoy it.
Equally, Kirby sold the rights (trademark) to Laser and should not be trying to stop the class from continuing or extract money after he sold his rights away. How many bites at the aple does he get? If I sell you my car can I take it back and demand more payment yet again and again? In my opinion I think its fair to conclude the neither the class, ILCA or ISAF took anything from Kirby at all. Maybe they actually went out of their way to continue to give things away even when there was little or no basis too do so because they wanted to avoid a fight. Think about it for a moment. If Kirby had a strong argument that they thought would prevail in court, why on earth would they be on this path. It would negatively impact their ability to work with any other class/designer/builder.
Not correct.
The Trademark (i.e. the right to call a small sailing dinghy a 'Laser') are not controlled by BKI.
The rights to use the design and the copyright to the construction manual ARE owned by BKI. This is common place in several classes that I am aware of the the UK (the SB20 (formerly SB3), the Blaze and the 2000 (formerly Laser 2000)).
It is worth mentioning that the 2000 and SB20 also split with LPE recently over non-payment of royalties. In these cases the relevant CAs worked with the design rights holder(s) to move away from LPE and set up their own builder.
I am also told similar moves are afoot for the Laser Vago.
So in summary LPE can build a small dinghy and call it a Laser. What they should not be doing is building it using the construction manual and infringing on the design rights of the rights holder without paying the relevant royalty.
To compare this to another area of leisure. This is similar to who authors and music artist get their income. They get a small 'royalty' for each book/track/album that gets sold. When someone comes along and starts producing their material without their consent they get not royalty. The difference is that these people have things like the MPIAA to back them up. There is nothing like this in place for sailing (except the ISAF who have chosen to go the other way and set a worrying precedent IMO).
They (ISAF/ILCA) have made a bad situation (with light at the end of the tunnel) into a complete disaster that had a great solution they have mostly closed-off. And ILCA are meant to be working on behalf of the membership!!!
Ian
1017 ‘yes’ votes (89.3%) and 122 ‘no’ votes (10.7%), With over 15,000 members organized in over 100 countries...
if you divide 1039/15000 you come up with 7.5% of the voting population..
What happened in the backroom of ISAF?
First 'NO' to the Change in the Fundamental Rule
And then, a few months later, 'YES'
Are the minutes of these meeting(s) available to outsiders? If somebody could come up with them, it would be insightful, I imagine.
Nothing requires BK's name to be on it AFAIK. Remember, BK's rights were wrapped up in the trademark. That was his to sell. Its now owned by LPE.
From BK's "complaint" he says he has/owns the "Construction Manual", "production tooling", "moulds" and "plugs" (in that the court documentation (page 21, section E of the complaint document) BK is requiring that the Defendants forfeit and return to Kirby those items. So can you build a Laser without the Construction Manual? 'cos I thought it was a critical part of the Laser class rules. And them keeping a photocopy or "writing their own identical version" could not work either (different "construction Manual" and it is a different boat and (assuming Kirby wins the case) same "Construction Manual" would be contrary to court ruling It would seem to me that he is claiming ownership of items other than any trademark.
Ian
IT’S THE BOAT THAT MATTERS, NOT THE NAME
In an attempt to rescue the Laser Class from its downhill course of the past few years I have reluctantly decided that a name change, or re-branding is necessary. During the past three or four years dealers have had difficulty getting timely delivery of boats, and in particular, of parts. We have had calls and e-mails from various parts of the world asking if there is anything that can be done to save the Laser. To give some idea how critical the situation with Lasers has become (as of mid-April, 2013) there is a boat shop in Toronto which has 52 American-built Lasers that have been brought in for repairs of various kinds.
Laser Performance in both Europe and North America own the name LASER and the sunburst symbol on the sail, but they don’t own the boat. Because I am owed quite a bit of money by these firms in unpaid design royalties it has been possible for me to terminate their building rights at both factories.
What the Laser sailing public must try to get their heads around is that it is not the name of the boat that matters, It is the boat itself - that 13’ 10” bit of fiberglass and aluminum that provides us with untold pleasure. I love the name Laser. I was there in the beginning when then builder Ian Bruce came up with it. I have lived with it and revered it for more than 40 years…but I know that if the boat is to be saved it must have a new name.
Laser Performance were terminated as builders last year, but the lawsuit was filed this year because production of the Laser unlawfully continued after termination. The International Laser Class Association (ILCA) in lock step with the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) participated in this unlawful manufacture by refusing to stop issuing Laser Performance the stick-on ISAF plaques that are attached to the inside of the aft face of the cockpit, identifying the boat as an authorized Kirby Sailboat permitted to be used in Laser class and ISAF sanctioned events.
I have tried to work with ILCA and ISAF on rebranding the boat, but they refused and demanded instead that I get a Court Order. So they are named in the lawsuit. After filing of the lawsuit, ISAF initially asked ILCA to stop issuing ISAF plaques to Laser Performance, but I don’t yet know if ILCA complied. In a new twist, ISAF and ILCA now seem prepared to issue a new version of the plaque to Laser Performance which removes my name from my own design. This is not only against the Laser Construction Manual which ISAF and ILCA claim to hold Builders to, thereby insuring a true one-design class, but also reveals their true strategy to steal my design. The irony in all of this is that by continuing to provide plaques to Laser Performance against my wishes and our contracts, both ISAF and ILCA continue to collect money from Laser Performance for every boat made even while I am not being paid the design royalty.
In any event, all builders of the Laser have been terminated and the Kirby Sailboat will only be lawfully built under the Kirby Torch brand. This does not violate any prior agreement I have with ISAF and ILCA since they explicitly only relate to manufacture of the Kirby Sailboat under the Laser brand. ILCA and ISAF have trumped up a “breach” in order to push through the “Fundamental Rule” change designed to excuse nonpayment of my royalty by Laser Performance. Their actions make their intentions clear: Steal the Kirby Sailboat from its designer.
New builders with stellar sailing and boat building credentials have signed agreements to follow the Construction Manual so that new Kirby Torches will be exactly like old Lasers, and both boats will be able to compete side by side under the rules of the Kirby Torch class. We have asked ILCA to set up the Kirby Torch class, but they continue to ignore us and the Torch even though there are no longer any licensed builders for the Laser. Go figure?!
So if you agree that what we are doing is in the best interests of the boat, please urge ILCA and your district Laser class organizations to cooperate with us for the sake of sailors throughout the world.
This is your boat. It’s my baby, but it’s your boat. With a simple change of the name we can offer a better quality product, consistent delivery and the steady supply of parts. The Kirby Torch Builders and Class Association will serve sailors—that is our promise to you and the reason I am taking on this fight. The fight is about pulling the boat out of the swamp it has been dragged into and handing it back to the sailors cleaned up and ready to move ahead for another 50 years. I have been disappointed with the treatment handed to me by those who should be firmly on the side of the sailors, and so at the age of 84 I am throwing all my energy into meetings, phone calls and e-mails to save the little boat.
Please join me in this endeavor and support the Torch. I can no longer race with you, but I can cheer you on.
Bruce Kirby
Rowayton, Ct. U.S.A.
April 24, 2013
They seem to have a strong supporter (or maybe more) within ILCA. Evidenced by the way the vote was put to the membership, the lack of requested information and the course they (ILCA) are taking now. I have no idea why but somebody in there loves them.So tell me why LPE is so wonderful?
They seem to have a strong supporter (or maybe more) within ILCA. Evidenced by the way the vote was put to the membership, the lack of requested information and the course they (ILCA) are taking now. I have no idea why but somebody in there loves them.
Ian