Author: Chuck
Date: 17:59:22 03/03/06
Go up one level in this thread
On March 03, 2006 at 15:43:52, Stefan Ottow wrote: >On March 03, 2006 at 08:15:53, Ruud Martin wrote: > >>Guys, >> >>I have had a constructive meeting with Saitek. >> >>We have discussed the possibility of using the Resurrection concept and launch >>it as a high end module. Furthermore we have discussed some kind of cooperation >>of me giving advices on their current Exclusive development. >> >>If these two items will not be the case i have to give insight (and i have >>already done this) on the interface with the exclusive board proving that my >>concept will not pose any guarantee problems with their boards. If this is the >>case Saitek will probably give me some more room to sell some extra modules. >>Saitek has not yet given a reason why this limit should exist other than the >>gaurantee thing with the board. So this will be something for Saitek to give >>good reasons... >> >>They will get back on me in the next month, after discussing it in their regular >>sales/development meetings. >> >>They even (again) asked to leave a module. But at this time i did not leave one, >>maybe next time... >> >>Ruud > > >Ruud, > >this sounds fair to me at least. And if the warranty problem is their only >concern, well, I guess there is no concern. At least my machine is now running >since quite a while in and Exclusive board and a Modular board without any >issues. What do they need as a proof? A 10 year in the field statistics ;-)? > >One further question? You said that Saitek is doing their own Exclusicve >development. Looking at their current products I cannot see any development here >since years (one Morsch clone after the other). Did they tell something in >particular (of course I can understand that you are probably not allowed to talk >about this). > >No 007 regards >Stefan Hi Ruud, It's great news that the door is still open on this. However, I think they're bluffing on two counts and you should be careful. 1st is the warranty issue - so you put a notice on your module that use in the boards of certain manufacturers (Saitek is not the only one) _may_ void the warranty. Then start selling! What's the difference between this and aftermarket manufacturers for cars?? 2nd is their claim of development. Stefan is right on target with this. While they can probably pull out some old designs or something, they haven't released anything _new_ in the modular line since, when, 1998? The Magellan/Senator would be the last new product. And we've had no news of any development of theirs for years. I'm afraid it might be true that they wanted to see an example of your module so they could incorporate enough of it into their designs to claim you're [patent]infringing. On the other hand, this might indicate that they no longer have an engineer on staff capable of duplicating it on his own. In the final analysis, I would agree that it would be a big plus to have these modules "officially sanctioned" by Saitek. So I can understand your playing it safe as long as that is a possibility. But I wouldn't hold onto that possibility until the opportunity is passed. If progress is not steady, one option to consider is forcing their hand by going ahead with private production. They will certainly not want to lose out on the revenue stream. Lastly, you should look at patenting your design to protect yourself. While I've never done it, I believe it is free (in the US) and all you have to do is file the application up front. Success in '06 Regards, Chuck
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