Did I miss something? - Associated RC10 copyrights and trademarks

[DavidB1126]

From Associated:

**Public Notice**
We appreciate your patience and understanding with this matter.
#WeAreAE

 

[Littlemotor]

From Associated:

**Public Notice**
We appreciate your patience and understanding with this matter.
#WeAreAE

View attachment 195463

Perhaps you’d want to include some possible context?

Or is that all? I haven’t seen any counterfeiting going on with Associated.. Their quality has gotten bad enough over the years imo, that even the Chinese don’t wanna bother..

 

[DavidB1126]

Or is that all?

Yep thats all that they said. Everyone is confused on whats happening

Their quality has gotten bad enough over the years imo,

Can't really go into this but I had my b74 for almost 2 years now and I love it. Top notch stuff. But their RTR stuff, can't comment on those but they look cool.

 

[entropy]

Perhaps you’d want to include some possible context?

Or is that all? I haven’t seen any counterfeiting going on with Associated.. Their quality has gotten bad enough over the years imo, that even the Chinese don’t wanna bother..

I think the counterfeiters would actually turn out a better quality project than the original.

 

[tntpoof]

will AE be hated like Traxxas.hmmm...

 

[Panko75]

If AE were better about selling parts for their legacy models, perhaps there would be less counterfeiting?

We should just start calling them who they really are, "Thunder Tiger".

 

[Lumikko]

This is most likely connected to the recent release of the Fan RC graphite kit.

Fan RC is not claiming to be the genuine thing so I don’t see how Team Associated could do anything about this.

 

[Littlemotor]

Yep thats all that they said. Everyone is confused on whats happening


Can't really go into this but I had my b74 for almost 2 years now and I love it. Top notch stuff. But their RTR stuff, can't comment on those but they look cool.

I don’t run any RTR stuff.. I can say that their plastic has been pretty trash for a good while, and a known issue. Their hardware is absolutely the worst I’ve ever seen/used that wasn’t Phillips head. They can’t seem to get their diffs/cases to jive worth a damn, which has been a problem in their truggies since at least the T4. Ask Rivkin; he’s had more than one DNF due to exploding his ring and pinion in the truck.. Their $70+ “Factory Team” upgraded CNC aluminum rear hubs snap if you look at them wrong-due to garbage material, and ultra poor machining/production practices.. Hell-they couldn’t build a 1/8 buggy AT ALL until finally they just literally ripped off Mugen lol.. I’ve ran them for three decades, and I have one of their buggies still as we speak. They’re just not as nice as they absolutely could, and SHOULD be, but Thunder Tiger just really doesn’t seem to think so.. Was much better when they were AE free and clear, not bought and owned by a larger manufacturer.. Hell my 3.2 is only capable due to being outfitted with MANY aftermarket/upgraded parts, and being equipped with the Mugen stuff they straight up stole their design from lol. At $349 brand new in the box-I couldn’t pass on it at the time.

FWIW-Losi was the same exact story… I ran them exclusively forever, then the old man sold out to Horizon, and they went to complete shiit. And shocker-they became IMPOSSIBLE to get parts for many times per year.. And they break CONSTANTLY. Bad combination-delicate 1/8 vehicle that you can’t get replacement parts for when it breaks.. AGAIN… 1/8 scale is SUPPOSED to be synonymous with damned near bulletproof. Tekno, and Mugen sure don’t seem to have any issues with that.. Hell, even X-ray.. Kyosho’s old ass buggy, and truggy too (archaic design, but it WORKS, and they’re SUPER easy to drive), provided it’s not cold out with the old control arm material (which I believe they addressed).. Even my old Hong Nor based Jammin’s, and Hobao/OFNA Hyper 8’s, and 8.5’s drove like a dream, were easy to work on, even EASIER to get parts for, and were tough as nails.. I can’t speak on Caster, Sparko, or Sworkz, but I haven’t seen or heard any complaining from those guys..

Associated, and Losi… Both have fallen far from grace IMHO.. From what they were..

 

[DavidB1126]

 

[WickedFog]

This is most likely connected to the recent release of the Fan RC graphite kit.

Fan RC is not claiming to be the genuine thing so I don’t see how Team Associated could do anything about this.

That's a pretty cool kit. But them slapping the World's model name on there, and it looking like an RC10 is probably enough for AE to go after them. It is being talked about on the RC10 forums.

 

[CertifiedMike]

If this is because someone actually stole their stuff, the claims from Associated make good sense. If they are trying to Traxxas... I'm watching...

 

[Panko75]

If they are trying to Traxxas... I'm watching...

The fact that this announcment came about not long after them promising a run of parts, is a bit suspicious. Anyone up for some $50 limited edition a-arms?

 

[Lumikko]

That's a pretty cool kit. But them slapping the World's model name on there, and it looking like an RC10 is probably enough for AE to go after them. It is being talked about on the RC10 forums.

Likeness isn’t enough for a solid case and I don’t think ”Worlds” is a trademark name owned by AE. At least Schumacher and Kyosho are also selling Worlds kits.

Without knowing what’s going on I can only speculate that it’s Fan RC they are harrassing. If that’s the case, Team Associated is pulling a Traxxas / Specialized and shooting themselves in both feet.

 

[Lumikko]

I saw screenshots of a distributor page for Fan RC products that didn’t have the ”fits/for” wording and it didn’t look like a legal way to sell aftermarket parts to me. It seemed misleading.

If that’s what Associated is going after, I fully support them.

The official naming and most distributors for Fan RC are using the correct language. Maybe one distributor didn’t get the memo?

It does raise the question, why Associated would use their social media presence and reach to draw attention to such a minor case that should be a breeze to correct.

 

[WickedFog]

I saw screenshots of a distributor page for Fan RC products that didn’t have the ”fits/for” wording and it didn’t look like a legal way to sell aftermarket parts to me. It seemed misleading.

If that’s what Associated is going after, I fully support them.

The official naming and most distributors for Fan RC are using the correct language. Maybe one distributor didn’t get the memo?

It does raise the question, why Associated would use their social media presence and reach to draw attention to such a minor case that should be a breeze to correct.

It's funny that it wasn't until Associated re-released the RC10 that they would go after anyone infringing on their copywrited parts and such. But I agree with all of this that you said here. To me, they should just reach out to the offending company and work things out in private. Especially since I am sure they know how the community feels about Traxxas. They are in no way as bad as Traxxas with this claim. But it is certainly a step in that direction.

I am hoping with Associated finally getting back to their roots with some of this retro stuff that they once again strive to be at the top in the racing scene. And I hope they bring back more of their old stuff like Kyosho has.

Speaking of Kyosho, I just noticed they now have nearly all of their Legendary kits in stock on Amain. I spent a few years waiting for a Javelin kit to come back in stock. But now, all the kits are in stock except the Ultima, which was just the opposite a year ago. They have also re-released a few other kits from back in the day, which I really hope they continue that and bring back others.

Now, if we can just get Losi to bring back the LST's