Plus Chris Spencer, representing the Aust/NZ builders who are firmly aligned with Kirby. So both sides in this debate are on the World Council.Take a look at who is on the ILCA Advisory Council in the 2013 Handbook and you will know why the ILCA is on the side of LaserPerformance and won't pay Kirby his entitled royalties. Bill Crane, aka Chairman of LaserPerformance...
I'm afraid the way the vote question was expressed by the ILCA and their subsequent failure to provide any information being requested by the members (at that time myself included) made me realise they were not acting for the membership. So because of that I (and others) have left the class. That makes me very uneasy because I strongly believe that when you sail as part of a class you should be a member of the association and support the class. But in the case of what the ILCA had become - no way. The question on the vote (and lack of unbiased information lack of subsequent information) raises very serious questions about the ILCA and there seems no way to get anything out of the "Black Box" they have become. It is like they have a conspiracy of silence. Of all the Class Associations I have been a member of I have never experienced anything like the ILCA.Plus Chris Spencer, representing the Aust/NZ builders who are firmly aligned with Kirby. So both sides in this debate are on the World Council.
This isn't about supporting LPE, or supporting Kirby. It's about supporting the Class. The ILCA aren't on one side or the other - they are trying to remove the class (and therefore the sailors) from the middle of a commercial fight between LPE and Kirby.
I think the sailors should be a little more respectful of the efforts of those running the ILCA - they're on our side. Some of the mud being thrown at them in this thread is very disappointing.
Of all the Class Associations I have been a member of I have never experienced anything like the ILCA.
Ian
Just to make clear, the patent application is not for the sail design itself. It is for a unique feature of the sail, which appears to be a reinforcing patch on the luff tube along where the two mast sections meet (No more nasty wrinkles!). You cannot patent a sail design any more than you can patent a hull design. Though the application mentions "Laser", a properly worded patent would prohibit use of the idea on other boats without licensing. And now that I think about it, they could sue anybody who makes a Laser knock-off sail using the luff tube patch (the real reason for the patent).
Hopefully the ILCA used a different lawyer than the one who told them Kirby's design rights had expired.
Wednesday Night Sailing starts in Austin on May 1. Come sail in a Laser or Sunfish!!!
It struck me before and the articles seem to confirm that anybody buying a new "Laser" (with the modified non-Kirby plaques) is risking having a boat that might be worthless and not allowed in open meetings/regattas depending on the outcome of the court case.
It's
It'sprobablytoo late to drain the (legal) swamp we are in...
And ILCA may go bust financially...
And ILCA may go bust financially...
The Aussie's want to continue to play by the rules. They can afford to because they get $1300 more a boat than the NA builders($6k vs $8K inc 10% GST). PSA's dream would be to get the worldwide Laser market even if it was for a few years while the court cases proceed. They did it last year with the Byte and Byte C2(The Laser's better looking little sister).
... until we can find builders in the US and Europe who will abide by the contract....
So what about this threat?:
Laser Dealers and Buyers Beware
posted May 3, 2013, 3:25 PM by Kirby Torch
We have learned that ISAF and ILCA intend to issue a New ISAF Plaque to terminated builder Laser Performance in North America and Europe. We understand the New ISAF Plaque will eliminate any reference to Laser designer Bruce Kirby. So future Laser hulls will not include his name.
We don’t think this decision by ISAF/ILCA is legal but a US Court will decide. In the meantime, we want to caution that the Kirby Torch Class will not accept Laser hulls bearing this New ISAF Plaque as class legal. The New ISAF Plaque will only mean that fees have been paid to ILCA and ISAF. It will not mean that the Laser hull is Kirby Torch class legal.
But, the Kirby Torch Class will accept as class legal any Laser hull bearing the original ISAF Plaque that includes “Bruce Kirby” even if no license fee has been paid to Bruce.
Commentators have suggested that the ISAF/ILCA decision to create and issue New ISAF Plaques, erasing Bruce Kirby’s name from the boat he designed, might lead to supply shortages of Lasers worldwide. See http://www.sail-world.com/USA/ISAF-Laser-intervention---Supply-problems-looming?/109036
... and that Bruce Kirby is right on all counts. ...