What does this mean for Russell Marine Products' Talon anchor light? Russell has had the "patent pending" verbiage on their advertising for about 2 years... curious if there is any patent conflict between the two.
Although they both act as anchor lights, the two designs are vastly different - the article doesn't state the patent details, so not sure how far-reaching the patent would be.
Russell's version is far simpler and less complicated in design and execution. T-zer's version is retractable, which looks like a nice feature to protect the light when not in use.
I bought a Russell Marine Talon light and love it. My buddy has the Tzer light which also nice. I went with Russell Marine light due to it's lower cost of $80. The Tzer was about $200 when I looked at them, they have come down since then. Yes, I understand that it is metal and flips up compared to the fixed mounted plastic Russell light. But for me $200 for an anchor light was too much money.
I applied for a patent on a Talon Light but when I noticed boaters were willing to go with non-USCG approved lighting as long as it was cheap I chose not to pursue it further.
For my prototype I cut down a USCG approved light, made a mount(Patent item) and used a thru bolt and a square nut to attach to the groove in the Talon.
In the end I felt it was not going to make sufficient profit to be viable commercially. I wish him good fortunes.
Doubt it will mean anything to russel marine. The two products may serve the same purpose but they do not look at all the same. I actually much prefer the RMp light design wise but the T-zer light allows the light to be higher up in the air for the smaller talons ensuring it can be viewed a full 360 degrees. On an 8 foot talon, the RMP product would be blocked by the motor in some circumstances.
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