Isn’t the Draupnir sorta kinda infringe-ing on YYJ’s patent of denser rim material?
Do you think YYJ would mind? :
Yes, and so does the Stealth Ogre. YoYoJam can’t do a thing, except prevent them from selling them here. Also, for all we know, it could be licensed by YoYoJam.
You’ll just have to buy them from overseas I suppose.
Yes it is because of the patent that YYR can not sell them in the states…
Anyone know when patents of this sort will expire?
I’m seriously looking forward to that day and seeing what other companies can come up with.
On February 24, 2020.
20 minutes of my life, down the drain. 
Took me so long to find this.
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^^^ lol, thanks Matthew.
It was in that complicated type of writing that is like a different language used for anything legal. There were about 4 or 5 paragraphs explaining things that could have each been condensed into one sentence. Apparently the patent wasn’t just about the plastic body with metal rims, but I don’t remember the other parts because I just skimmed through them. And this time I’m keeping my 20 minutes.
My deepest thanks too, Matthew.
Also, I just remembered, didn’t Northern Spin Co. make a yoyo with different material rims in the past?
I was really interested in that, never knew what happened to that project though…
And what about the YYF Catch 22? How did that throw get past the patent shenanigans?
Patents? Patents?! Pfft. If people were patenting everything then we wouldn’t get anywhere. There’d probably only be one company making ball bearing yoyos, the H shape would probably belong to some obscure company and we’d probably all be throwing Duncans and Yomegas. What makes the yoyo world so great is that companies collaborate, help each other, use each others technology etc etc. It’s why we end up with so many great throws.
Shame on you YYJ, shame on you…
The patent was specifically for yoyo with a plastic body and aluminum rims. The Catch 22 has an aluminum body and titanium rims, so it doesn’t violate the patent. It is patent number 6,206,749 if you really want to read it. Warning: patents are very in depth articles of writing, and may induce accidental sleeping. Proceed with caution.
It’s not specific on plastic, here is quote from patent:
So yes, it apply for aluminium with steel ring. This patent is reason why Werrd Beef couldnt be sold in USA.
So, how come Northern Spin and Werrd caught patent flak and Catch22 did not?
I think The Northern Spin Co is based out of Canada and all there yoyos were sold direct until recently, and Im not sure about the Catch 22 I’d imagine they were either licensed by YYJ or the patent wasn’t in place yet.
Onedrop sorta of licenses side effects to other company’s they don’t let them do it for free weather it is that they are the only ones who can machine the side effects or what not. Also I think YYJ should licence the bi material patent a bit more often.
Yes I know, but as long as they are consulted and credited, it seems that they have no problem with it. The overwhelming vibe you get from Onedrop as a company is that they just want to do all they can to improve the yoyoing scene and help the community. Its refreshing and it’s why they’re so beloved by all of us.
Just think of how many more awesome throws we would have if the bi-material thing hadn’t been patented! We’re lucky to have the Protostar/Rally etc as it is, I’m sure that took a bit of working and research to be allowed…
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I think it’s going a bit far to call Yoyojam “scumbag.”
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Edit: Removed the memes in order to keep the peace. They’re still quoted in another post but I’m sure the mods can handle that. Sorry for any offense caused, I was just messing about.
Patents are generally healthy for innovation. They encourage inventors to develop ideas by ensuring that they can actually benefit from their ideas and not have them immediately stolen by someone with more resources who can push them out of the market. They also encourage competitors to come up with new approaches rather than simply copying a previous solution.
I am not sure I understand lamenting that we don’t have enough good yoyo choices. The market is full of a huge variety of great designs. Without patents, we probably would have more YYJ-style metal-rimmed yoyos (though YYJ itself already makes a pretty large selection of those), but we might not have alternative designs like Buzz-Ons, Protostars, Rallys, etc if those companies could have just copied YYJ’s design. Aluminum and/or plastic designs might also not have progressed as quickly.
Beyond yoyos, the rest of our lives would probably be much different without patents, especially regarding industries with high R&D costs. One reason inventors and companies put a lot of resources into developing technological advancements is that they know developing it means they get market protection. Without that incentive, there would be less invested into those improvements.
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While there are good and bad aspects of patents, I think we should err on the side of good. When someone patents an idea, they have put lots of thought and research into the work (which costs money). Many patent holders license their intellectual property so that others can use it, but without licensing fees their significant investment in research and design is appropriated by others who benefit with no expense. Mind you, I say this as a person whose father is an electrical engineer and holds patents. What incentive do you have to innovate if others simply steal your innovations and undersell you because they have no R&D expenses?