a friend and i were just talking… a-rt could to get ahead of the curve (or i could lol) and release their own fake a-rts, call them ‘FA-RT’s and sell them significantly cheaper than their normal runs 
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as if you’re gonna see any mono on their site for less than 147$ shipped
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what if they SMELLED like farts too? instead of like… skunk 
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Speaking of bearings, did the fake come with a YYR DS bearing like the real A-RT Grails do?
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Thet could also release titanium ones and call them Tarts and charge about $1004 each. That’s sound about right for A-RT pricing.
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i’m curious… as i’ve asked a couple other people now… would folks be interested in FatGuy Snacks’ FA-RTs
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or maybe bootleg Pheaks while your at it.
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First I’ll say I’m writing this from an American perspective and sorry for the wall of text.
As @mrciurleo stated, I think they are more for “property rights relating to an invention” rather than design shape of a product. I think it would be hard to convince the US patent office that the Grail design is unique enough that it deserves a patent for the design alone. The other issue is that even if it were possible to do that, there are tons of different yoyo designs coming out every year. It wouldn’t be practical for a small operation like G2 or Rain City Skills (or even a larger company like Duncan) to keep filing for each design. Also companies like A-rt, RSO, Luftverk are not even American based so there’s a further layer of difficulty trying to file for protection.
The other issue is that copyright, patents, trademark protections are useless across international borders if there’s no trade agreement between the countries. The US is currently in a trade war with China and has no formal way of enforcing any copyright law within their borders. I’ve also think that since they’ve opened up their markets, their society has focused primarily on profit and modern economic development over maintaining traditional Confucian ideals like justice, kindness, and sincerity. From what I’ve read and heard, you need wealth to be respected in modern Chinese society. Put all of this together and you get a ton of fake products and a ton of IP theft in China.
It’s a shame too. There is some terrific manufacturing being done over there. Some of the current Chinese fake Rolex and Omega wrist watches are just outstanding in terms of quality and reliability. I really think if you give those people making the fakes a few good original designs and decent marketing, you could have something special.
I just want to emphasize that there are many decent hardworking Chinese out there. I’m a huge Yoyofriends fan–I believe they are doing things the right way and I will continue to buy their yoyos. It’s easy to generalize when you focus on the bad.
Edit/Correction: Actually I’ve been doing some reading, there still are some IP agreements in place between the US and China but as many have stated enforcement is a big issue. I can’t see how A-rt or any other yoyo company could realistically go after the people making these fakes.
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a few years ago, I considered naming my homemade cotton string Fixed Axle Return Top String…
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It is too late for that, ive already seen fake shutters and boy to they look hilariously bad. They are blocky and the shutter logo looks like a joke. Honestly looks like a meme yoyo
Thats funny. I would love to see a picture of one haha
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Also ironic: if there was a logo or art on the yo-yo or any branding it could be trademark infringement or copyright.
There is nothing stopping anyone legally from reproduction of a yo-yo in this manner.
It’s just poor form.
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