How does this bladed jig not infringe on the zman patent?

[Tk_duluthbass]

I was looking at all the bladed jig options on TW and this one caught my eye since it’s the only one that connects the blade directly to the head. Anyone know how they don’t get sued?

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Pepp...e-PFDCMRM.html

[Munkin]

Some companies are paying Zman to use the patented rights is my guess?

Allen

[21XDC]

Not directly connected to the "hook" and not a coffin shape blade.

[plbass]

As stated above. He has an inside scoop.

[Bryanmc57]

Not directly connected to the "hook" and not a coffin shape blade.

Ganns Tackle used to make a bait called the warthog that had heavy spinnerbait wire that extended about 1/2 " from the nose of the bait (hook eye was inside the head like a spinnerbait) and he attached the blade to that. He got a letter and discontinued making them. I thought he would win that one as the hook was not directly attached, but he didn't want to go through the expense fighting with a company that had a lot more money than he did.

[Tk_duluthbass]

The jackhammer isn’t directly connected to the hook either, there’s a wire form making the connection. Yeah, maybe they’re paying zman. Other companies using the spinnerbait wire still have the split ring to make connection. Maybe it’s becausr there’s a split ring connecting the hook?

[bassinvol]

There only has to be like a 10% difference to not infringe on a patent. So a simple blade design, head design hook etc can all make the difference. When was the last time you heard of any bait company winning a law suit on copyright infringement for any bait? It just doesn’t happen. Many companies don’t even patent a new bait because it’s not worth the money. They just hope they make enough on the front end and maintain a loyal customer base.

[Munkin]

There only has to be like a 10% difference to not infringe on a patent. So a simple blade design, head design hook etc can all make the difference. When was the last time you heard of any bait company winning a law suit on copyright infringement for any bait? It just doesn’t happen. Many companies don’t even patent a new bait because it’s not worth the money. They just hope they make enough on the front end and maintain a loyal customer base.

Zman is different as the are part of a Fortune 500 company so they have the money for lawyers. They have already successfully sued Phenix and stopped a lot of smaller companies from using their patents.

Allen

[DrewFlu33]

Zman is different as the are part of a Fortune 500 company so they have the money for lawyers. They have already successfully sued Phenix and stopped a lot of smaller companies from using their patents.

Allen

This. I've also heard from someone that would know that the head honcho at Z-Man is a patent lawyer himself. They've got the desire and resources to come after folks that skirt the rules.

[Mark Perry]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wir...-bass-pro/amp/

[Bryanmc57]

There only has to be like a 10% difference to not infringe on a patent.

Many people undervalue patents these days because they mistakenly believe they can avoid infringement by changing their product by some percentage, such as 10 to 30 percent. There's no rule about how much you can modify a product to avoid infringement.
In the technical sense, infringement isn't about the difference between a product and a patent. In fact, a product may appear to be very different and still infringe. Instead, infringement is about the claims. Avoiding infringement isn't about adding to or changing the claims; it's about omitting what is in the claims.

https://www.upcounsel.com/how-differ...t-infringement