Zooter Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 I spoke to a very nice young man on the phone last night as I was confirming my order. I think it's likely a friendly resolution will be found. I emailed them this morning after this shitstorm broke, suggesting they work it out for mutual benefit.
Kostarika Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Wow I am speechless. Especially its done from someone in our small community. Karma is a bitch. Thanks Pete for all that you do.
Scud Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Coincidentally, my ROPER plate arrived in today's post.
pete roper Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 I certainly don't want retribution. As I Said on WG there is more than enough shit in the world at the moment! It's just how easy would it to have been to phone me? My number is lazer etched on all of my plates along with my company logo. They would of had one of each type as they are perfect doppelgängers. I was never going to get wealthy making them and selling them I can assure you. In fact I give more money to the Salvation Army every Christmas than I make on the plates . I was dwelling on this as I was driving over to Wagga Wagga to pick up my Griso. You know what is wonderful? This evening I'll be back in my little village sitting on the verandah of the top pub. I'll quaff a few ales and then Jude and I accompanied by my daughter will join our trivia team and we'll thrash our deadly enemies the Double X team and indulge in a lot of furious gloating and good hearted piss taking before we all adjourn home where Erika has made a huge salad and Pesto pasta. We'll sit on the verandah watching the fireflies and have a couple of quiet wines or a scotch nightcap before we turn in........ And the plagiarists will STILL be in Huddersfield! Life's good! Pete 4
docc Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 That is a beautiful reply. Lifting my glass to Pete and rejoicing in his veranda across all this space!
Lucky Phil Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Pete I was listening recently to a well known radio presenter that had come up with an inovative design for something and when he investigated the possibiltiy of going into production the professional advise he got was that it wasnt worth the effort as within 6 months a cheap Chinese copy would be on the market and his wouldnt sell. Talk about killing inovation and invention. Ciao
grossohc Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 I For me, the name "Roper Plate" is synonymous with "Moto Guzzi V11 windage plate". Thats how i would describe mine. No knock offs on my bike, and they have lost a customer.
pete roper Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 Mine. https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7401/16431718211_5b4dfe97c5_b.jpg[/img] Open the link otherwise only a pic of the Tonti plate appears. Or just go to the Gutsibits site and search for Windage plate. They even call it a 'Sloppage Sheet', a term coined by someone here. http://www.gutsibits.co.uk/pr/TheShop/index.php?q=Windage+plate.&f=d&Model=1&search=SEARCH Not a trace of plagiarism there Eh? ??? Pete
Gio Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 I was at the Classic bike show in Stafford last October and bought a "Stay calm - they all do that sir " T-shirt from one of those neds ... think I'll send it back! What goes around, comes around my friend. Gio
pete roper Posted February 4, 2015 Author Posted February 4, 2015 Nah. I don't want to start a shitstorm. I am going to contact them and say that I'm not happy and that 'Their' product is obviously plagiaristic, in fact it's an exact copy! I'll state that I know I have no legal recourse as I have no patent and prosecuting a case for copyright or intellectual property would be prohibitively expensive but will ask if they would like to ask about some form of licensing agreement or at least discuss some sort of restitution. If I'm told to @#!#$# off or ignored then the gameplan changes. Pete
PDoz Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 Pete, if you contact them and they don't resolve this to your satisfaction can you let us all know? Next time I'm looking for bits for my guzzis I'll know where NOT to look.
Welshguzzi Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 I'd be surprised if they were unreasonable. They have a great reputation and I always found them very good to deal with in the past.
Admin Jaap Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 ^ +1. I bought some stuff from them and they were very helpful and friendly. Maybe they didn't even know it is your design.
luhbo Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 ... Maybe they didn't even know it is your design. Jaap, come on. They should know what they're doing. Personally I find it rather poor minded to make and sell a copy of someone else's design, this way telling everyone that phantasy or elegance are terms I'm unfortunately not familiar with. A good reputation doesn't mean that enough blokes out there with 'good reputation' are making real money with GuzziDiag, selling stolen software and stolen maps. And why did it take two whole pages before the name of the 'windy guys' were mentioned the first time? Hubert
Admin Jaap Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Hypothetically: If you were offered a good product to resell, made by a reputable manufacturer, would you feel obliged to check if they ripped of the design? I don't think so. But maybe there are cultural differences :-) BTW, there is such a thing as 'no dealer bashing' on this and other forums. But I understand Pete's frustration; I would feel the same way. However, before we all raise a shitstorm here, Pete should contact the guys and deal with them. From experience I know they're quite reasonable!
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