# meffert Puzzle News as of January 12. 2009 – New Puzzle releases !!!



## Ton (Jan 13, 2009)

Hi

Appart to annouce new puzzles
http://mefferts.com/page.php?lang=en&theme=new_puzzle_release

There was a section SPECIAL NOTICE: No one hates copy factories and knockoff puzzles more that Erno Rubik and me, 

Where I noticed:


> FYI, the Back to Square-1, Void cube, 6x6x6 and 7x7x7 V-cubes have all been successfully copied in this
> manner and the mold for the *V-cube 9x9x9* is almost finished. As soon as the copy companies see a new
> puzzle on the Twisty Puzzle forum or YouTube that they think has potential, they will take out a Chinese
> local design patent, which can be granted in China within six months at relatively little cost. It makes me
> ...


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## AvGalen (Jan 13, 2009)

Time to order some stuff from Mefferts again


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## jcuber (Jan 13, 2009)

> As soon as the copy companies see a new
> puzzle on the Twisty Puzzle forum or YouTube that they think has potential, they will take out a Chinese
> local design patent, which can be granted in China within six months at relatively little cost. It makes me
> very angry to see the local copy companies becoming millionaires overnight while the poor
> original inventors/designers get nothing



With how much v-cubes cost, I don't think Mr. Verdes is poor.


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## TomZ (Jan 13, 2009)

jcuber said:


> With how much v-cubes cost, I don't think Mr. Verdes is poor.



That's not quite true. He might have quite some money, but I don't think that would be due to the sales of the cubes. While manufacturing the cubes isn't that expensive once you're set up to do so, there are high start up costs. The molds are complex, and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to make. It is a big investment to start making these things.

I think we should all support him by buying none of the fake V-Cubes so that he can manufacture the other V-Cubes as well.


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## jcuber (Jan 13, 2009)

I have never seen fake v-cubes, I have a feeling that the chinnese knock-offs aren't going to chance selling them online. Also, isn't producing them in violation of international copyright law?


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## Unknown.soul (Jan 13, 2009)

jcuber said:


> Also, isn't producing them in violation of international copyright law?



The V-Cube designs are patented worldwide, so they can't get away with selling them even in China.


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## AvGalen (Jan 13, 2009)

Unknown.soul said:


> jcuber said:
> 
> 
> > Also, isn't producing them in violation of international copyright law?
> ...



I don't think a worldwide patent exists. The Chinese are (in)famous for copying everything and getting away with it. I even thought that copying was allowed by Chinese law, but I just read that somewhere, sometime.


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## Unknown.soul (Jan 13, 2009)

AvGalen said:


> Unknown.soul said:
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> 
> > jcuber said:
> ...





Reiteration of AvGalen said:


> but I just read that somewhere, sometime.


message too short


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## crazyasianskills (Jan 13, 2009)

Where can you see these fake V-cubes, I dont want them and will not buy them, I already have my own which I love, I just want to see how they look.


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## rachmaninovian (Jan 14, 2009)

you mean that the v-cube 9 is going to be illegally produced in china? damn.


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## daniel0731ex (Jan 14, 2009)

AvGalen said:


> Unknown.soul said:
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> 
> > jcuber said:
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they actually are legal in china, they don't have a patent system there



never heard of comminism?


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## AvGalen (Jan 14, 2009)

daniel0731ex said:


> AvGalen said:
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> 
> > Unknown.soul said:
> ...



No, never heard of comminism
Thanks for the info about the absence of t Chinese patent system. Do you have a source for that?


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## daniel0731ex (Jan 14, 2009)

AvGalen said:


> daniel0731ex said:
> 
> 
> > AvGalen said:
> ...




ARRRR~mispelled again lol (i meant communism)

well, i thought the fact that china is a communist country is common sense.... maybe it's only for us asians 

P.S what's t Chinese?


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## Odin (Jan 15, 2009)

If the chinese vcube knock-offs are cheaper and i cant get arrested for buying/owning one, i wouldent care if they started making them. vcube has been monopolising the 7x7x7 and 6x6x6 for wayyyyyyy to long!


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## MistArts (Jan 15, 2009)

Odin said:


> If the chinese vcube knock-offs are cheaper and i cant get arrested for buying/owning one, i wouldent care if they started making them. vcube has been monopolising the 7x7x7 and 6x6x6 for wayyyyyyy to long!



I though monopolies are only illegal in the US?


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## Kenneth (Jan 15, 2009)

Odin said:


> If the chinese vcube knock-offs are cheaper and i cant get arrested for buying/owning one, i wouldent care if they started making them. vcube has been monopolising the 7x7x7 and 6x6x6 for wayyyyyyy to long!



you did not get it did you?

6x6 and 7x7 are V-cubes only because it is Verdes innovation. If anyone can make up their own construction for a 6x/7x then it would be OK but noone has done that.

It is like you are writing a book, then a chinese copys it and sells it for a lower price than you and give you nothing... I'm sure that would make you really happy :]

I'm supporting Uwe on this one, will newer buy a chinaminx or anything... only legal puzzles for me.


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## AvGalen (Jan 15, 2009)

Kenneth said:


> Odin said:
> 
> 
> > If the chinese vcube knock-offs are cheaper and i cant get arrested for buying/owning one, i wouldent care if they started making them. vcube has been monopolising the 7x7x7 and 6x6x6 for wayyyyyyy to long!
> ...


On the other hand it would help if Mefferts and V-Cubes would listen better to their customers and would improve the quality of their V-Cubes. I think it is pretty ridiculous that an (expensive) Mefferts Megaminx comes with tiles that don't stick (and thus fall off and sometimes get lost), springs that are way to tight and basically is almost impossible to turn and how often could someone actually buy one in the last 2 years?

The same can be said for Rubiks DIY (center caps fall off) and the reduced quality of their 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 compared to the ones that were available three years ago. (Rubiks 2x2x2 is just....)
Or V-Cubes 6x6x6 (how many mods have there been lately????)


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## Kieran (Jan 15, 2009)

Saying that it is protected by International Copyright Law means basically nothing in China, Bali, etc. Nike is internationally copyrighted and if you go to China or most Asian markets you can buy cheap fakes that are said to be real. They are able to do it because it's nearly impossible to track this and if you do catch some-one it's bloody hard to get anything out of them.

EDIT: I just read some more posts and thought I'd argue just a little more. China *does* have a patent system, it's just (As I have already said) near impossible to police, but they have taken huge changes to try and fix the problem so that they don't get looked at as the copy-country of the world. 

@Odin: Have you ever done anything worthwhile in your life because that was one of the most self-centered comments I've heard, I agree entirely with Kenneth (above)

@Av Galen: Have you ever considered the complexity of making the cube, let alone editing it not long after you have released it. It's not exactly a quick process. You have people moaning from all sides; you have people wanting V4 and V8-11 (so forth) and the people who want a V6b, you can't please everyone all the time, and no doubt to make the modification it costs absolutely loads of money and we know knowing of what is happening at the factory and planning stages, so I think it is unjust to say that it's okay to buy Chinese cubes, etc because the companies that originally made them aren't making the mods that *you* want. I realise other people want that as well, but you can't please everyone. Have you heard the saying, "It's easier to put on slippers that carpet the whole world"? It speaks the truth. 

But this argument doesn't really begin or end with cubes, everything nowadays can be gotten through a copy or through the internet? How many people here can honestly say they have never downloaded a song/movie from the internet (illegaly) or bought a fake copy of something? I imagine none.


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## Vulosity (Jan 16, 2009)

Is this Pyraminx a Meffert's clone?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Rubik-Type-Puzz...14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

It says Meffert's style structure.


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## Ethan Rosen (Jan 17, 2009)

AvGalen said:


> On the other hand it would help if Mefferts and V-Cubes would listen better to their customers and would improve the quality of their V-Cubes. I think it is pretty ridiculous that an (expensive) Mefferts Megaminx comes with tiles that don't stick (and thus fall off and sometimes get lost),



I don't know about everything else that you said, but Uwe has said in the past that the reason for this is that they can't legally sell toys with toxic (aka strong) glue, because since they are toys it is assumed they are selling them to children, and the government assumes children will eat the puzzles.


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## daniel0731ex (Jan 17, 2009)

Ethan Rosen said:


> AvGalen said:
> 
> 
> > On the other hand it would help if Mefferts and V-Cubes would listen better to their customers and would improve the quality of their V-Cubes. I think it is pretty ridiculous that an (expensive) Mefferts Megaminx comes with tiles that don't stick (and thus fall off and sometimes get lost),
> ...



idotic, but true, sadly.


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## pcharles93 (Jan 17, 2009)

daniel0731ex said:


> Ethan Rosen said:
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> > AvGalen said:
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I can see it now, children that are ambitious enough to order megaminxes and pyraminxes, but... they eat them :confused:


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## mazei (Jan 17, 2009)

pcharles93 said:


> daniel0731ex said:
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> > Ethan Rosen said:
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Maybe with some salad dressing or tartar sauce it might taste nice.


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## panyan (Jan 17, 2009)

i cant wait to see fake vcubes for a few reasons:
1) just out of interest
2) their price (not to buy though, i have all three)
3) their quality (im assumings its very little!)
4) how many people buy them
5) how quickly verdes responds with better quality vcubes


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