I have a very good friend who owns a store and field. Yesterday he called CCM to get parts to build a gun based on one of Simon's bodies that a customer of his purchased. He was able to get all the internals, bolt, cocking rod, pump rod, and threaded timing rod. CCM said that they are no longer producing non pump grip frames, and front pneumatics because they were afraid of violating the patent that Kee holds on the Autococker. This didn't make sense to me so I took a look at uspto.gov and looked them up. There is no valid active patent on the autococker or autococker design. The name Autococker does have a valid trademark. The autococker and it's parts have been in the public domain so long that you could no longer get a valid patent.
I feel that the Simonized community is made up of intelligent adults so my question to you is, do you think this perceived potential patent issue is slowing or preventing the small boutique manufactures from remaking parts? Or the market is just not there to make it worth while?
Simon, as a former Kee employee and now manufacture of a fine cocker body, what are your thoughts?
PS, there has been some noise about Shocktech potentially remaking other parts. Is Belsales still making parts? Does Kee have any new old stock of STO parts left? Kee is supposed to start selling the parts that are on the Resurrection in March. Anyone besides Palmers still making cocker parts?
Belsales is still making parts, I somewhat recently bought a .44 ram and QEV's, I know that also PBG and another website (I've since forgotten the name, their background is orangey... funny since I ordered my ram from this website...) stock Belsales parts.
i think CCM saw the writing on the wall, and saw that there snipers stuff was gonna be way more profitable, and way less trouble, and just self selected to get out of making cocker bits.
social conservatism: the mortal fear that someone, somewhere, might be having fun.
Compulsive is the only US dealer for Belsales, they get sporadic shipments. Other than that I think Palmer's is the only one still actively making pneumatics. PBGateway and Gat Products have two of the WGP trailers with all the old stock.I believe there's one more trailer out there but I forget who has it.
There is no patent on the autococker or pneumatics for it. Anyone could make that if they wanted.
I believe Shocktech is going to be doing frames.
I have looked into and designed a pivot and slider frame, but I can't make things as cheaply as many people so I don't know if it's a worthwhile product for me to do or not.
I am not sure if there is enough of a market for a company to rely on it solely but if they can make parts and make a profit that is their business decision. Personally I would buy the parts from KEE if/when they do sell them separately.
Simon, will the sniper/ resurrection frame fit the standard cocker bodies that everyone has laying around?
Yeah all the autococker projects that I have on the go are crawling to a halt due to CCM not selling wholesale frames to their dealers now. Just when the return on custom markers happens then one of the places you could source parts stops distributing.
Simon maybe this is a gap in the industry that you can help fill since your doing so much already. Haaa
Last edited by ThisISPaintball.ca; 02-13-2014 at 06:30 PM.
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Nope. Not without some modification.Originally Posted by Tigwldr
I'm thinking about it, but I have other projects that are more fun and rewarding that need to get done
Isn't making us paintballers happy a form of fun and perhaps rewarding Simon? (joking of course) I'm sure the machine time can be used for much better things since you probably have endless projects that have lived in your head for way to long.
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The reality is somethings I will do for the fun of it and "just because" but at the same time I also have to do some things that will keep the business afloat and a roof over my head
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