is tippmann and BT paintball the same Company? - Page 2

RealtorTommy · 12-09-2007, 07:49 PM

To help a newbie out...National Paitball Suppy....copied...oops worked to get the BT line going...NPS is now KEE.....

Marauder_Pilot · 12-09-2007, 07:55 PM

Ben Tippmann was one of the designers for the Tippmann blowback series. He had a falling-out with the rest of the Tippmann family over the direction of the company (Some say it's due to Tippmann outsourcing some of their production), left and formed Ben Tippmann. Tippmann sued them over the name and the use of the inline blowback design. He lost the rights to the name, but won the right to use the design because he's one of the designers. BT was changed to Battle Tested, although it's normally still called Ben Tippmann, or just BT. Eventually, BT was bought out by KEE and is now a subsidiary like Brass Eagle, WGP and a number of other smaller paintball companies.

ceojetbroadband · 12-09-2007, 08:58 PM

So, they are making similar designs, but not getting trouble with patents and copyrights?

Party of A-5 · 12-09-2007, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceojetbroadband

So, they are making similar designs, but not getting trouble with patents and copyrights?

If it was Smart Parts instead of Tippmann.....

HP_Lovecraft · 12-09-2007, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceojetbroadband

So, they are making similar designs, but not getting trouble with patents and copyrights?

Lots of companies have made inline blowback paintguns. Mokal, Sheridan, and Brass Eagle have all made recent ones.

Also, other companies have split off from Tippmann in the past. ATCI, and PEC come to mind. Both were started by ex-exployees.

However, Ben didn't just make his own inline blowback. He used the exact same specs, which is what probobly irked Tippmann a bit. Kingman sued PMI and NPS for making "spyder clones" at one point. Clearly Kingman didn't event the STBB, but they felt the PMI and NPS guns were cosmetically too close to the Kingman guns.

nick

Marauder_Pilot · 12-12-2007, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceojetbroadband

So, they are making similar designs, but not getting trouble with patents and copyrights?

Most of them have settled and allowed the design to be shared. I think Tippmann does have the patent for the inline blowback, but as far as I know they're not charging royalties to use it. Tippmann and BT just had a dispute because the parts were *identical*, but that was resolved since Ben Tippmann was one of the original designers anyways, so had a right to his IP.

12-09-2007, 07:55 PM	#12 (permalink)
Marauder_Pilot Thrillin' Heroics Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Whitehorse, Yukon/Windsor, Ontario	Ben Tippmann was one of the designers for the Tippmann blowback series. He had a falling-out with the rest of the Tippmann family over the direction of the company (Some say it's due to Tippmann outsourcing some of their production), left and formed Ben Tippmann. Tippmann sued them over the name and the use of the inline blowback design. He lost the rights to the name, but won the right to use the design because he's one of the designers. BT was changed to Battle Tested, although it's normally still called Ben Tippmann, or just BT. Eventually, BT was bought out by KEE and is now a subsidiary like Brass Eagle, WGP and a number of other smaller paintball companies. __________________ Luuubbbbbeeeee! Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die, With a rifle in your hands and you're falling through the sky, Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die, He ain't gonna jump no more!

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12-09-2007, 08:58 PM	#13 (permalink)
ceojetbroadband Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: in a nice house	So, they are making similar designs, but not getting trouble with patents and copyrights?