How did they do that?

[jbl]

Hi all
Going through my speaker library the other night, I came across the Fostex T845 HF driver. It looked, from the picture, exactly like a JBL 2405. However, the specs for the 2405 were much better. How was Fostex able to copy a patented design in a competitive market?

Ron

[4313B]

How long do patents last? The 2405 is awfully old.

[Don McRitchie]

I'm not aware that the 2405 was ever covered by patents. My guess is that there is substantial prior art that would make it difficult to patent the diffraction slot principle used in the 077/2405.

It is not possible to protect the "look" of a product. Therefore, you will find virtually identical looking copies of many of the classic JBL and Altec driver designs, particularly from Japan. One former JBL executive told me about attending the European AES and coming across a small Italian firm that was marketing JBL knock-offs. They even went so far as to photocopy JBL's pro catalog, and replace all of the text that referred to the JBL name with their own company's name.

[Gary L]

Hey Don, There seems to be a big part of what you said left out!
Not necessarily by you but, do the knock offs sound as good or must all speakers that sound good have JBL or Altec on them?
Please don't get me wrong here. The Lansing name has provided many wonderful years of listening pleasure.
Could it be that our higher frequencies are causing our woofers coverage to get narrower?
Just a thought to stir the pot:o