Dumb Question

[hoowahfun]

So I've been thinking....I like the AMP MT, but wish there were more parts available with aluminum upgrades. I thought, why not make my own? I could even sell them online. Would I be breaking any laws or something (thinking patent type stuff) if I made AMP MT parts out of aluminum and sold them online? Not real familiar on the legal issues with that kind of thing.

Thoughts?

 

[i_r_beej]

It's fair use. The hobby is full of small businesses making their own aftermarket upgrades. So long as you don't make any kind of claim (or suggestion thereof) of endorsement by ECX or Horizon Hobby you'll be fine.

 

[hoowahfun]

Interesting, that's good to know. Could you expand a little bit on what you mean by "fair use"?

 

[nemethp13]

I looked at this for a hot second and then just looked at the cost for Hot Racing parts and it is insanely hard to compete especially for a car that is considered pretty entry level. Take a look at their product lineup. For the 1/10 scale cars, they seem to produce a bunch. Fair Use typically means that it isn't new or novel technology so it isn't patent protected. The cars on the market are very similar and they don't worry about patent issues.

 

[WithinU]

Yeah, think of wheels, some wheels fit a plethora of different ECX cars (stock and even aftermarket). You could make your own wheel and sell it for the ECX grouping (torment, AMP, ect….) that you desire, the wheel size and offsets are public knowledge.
Like i_r_beej said you can't say it's ECX making the wheel, just use your company name, and then say "Fits" torment , Amp ect........

You for sure could try and contact ECX board members and ask about a colaboration of sorts, but I highly doubt they would do that.
They have their own wheels already.