Interesting. VP evading taxes?

[WHITE-TRASH]

from here? i think he's been gone for years now.

I don't think Tom was banned but simply left?

Last post was 2014 and "I joined the band" is his title so he's gone.

 

[badhoopty]

I don't think Tom was banned but simply left?

i dunno but a bunch of his posts were moved to the banned threads section.

 

[Highmark]

The mystery deepens...

 

[travis c.]

If true it's a low blow to their customers and the crawling enthusiasts.

 

[EeePee]

Huh. Guess I could dig deeper but I don't really care. Last VP thing I bought were DH wheels and bullet weights. $200 for the wheels. Whatever for the weights. Good investment...

 

[Levi]

I ran out of popcorn on page 2. I need a refill and a drink would be nice with it too

Sent from my SM-J727T using Tapatalk

 

[BigSki]

I'm curious if the statement about them (VP) not paying for licensing rights is true, and if so, does it apply to other vendors in the marketplace?

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

I'm curious if the statement about them (VP) not paying for licensing rights is true, and if so, does it apply to other vendors in the marketplace?

Imagine if it came to light that axial didn't keep using jeep after jeep because they already had paid the licensing but rather because some pencil usher figured out that they sell like crack in oakland contrary to belief around here... :shock:

 

[badhoopty]

I'm curious if the statement about them (VP) not paying for licensing rights is true, and if so, does it apply to other vendors in the marketplace?

maybe not for licensing jeep or major corporate trademarks, but small guys im willing to assume most licensing rights are a handshake agreement and some free shit.

 

[tuanies]

I'm curious if the statement about them (VP) not paying for licensing rights is true, and if so, does it apply to other vendors in the marketplace?

They could just offer a cut of each product sales vs a flat fee.

 

[EeePee]

maybe not for licensing jeep or major corporate trademarks, but small guys im willing to assume most licensing rights are a handshake agreement and some free shit.

Hey hoop, sand the bearings.

 

[SSD]

I'm curious if the statement about them (VP) not paying for licensing rights is true, and if so, does it apply to other vendors in the marketplace?

RC parts licensing is mostly (not all) free. The logic being that the brand is getting free advertising and potentially new customers (kids growing up knowing the brand) for their actual real products at some point.

Body licensing (Chevy, Ford etc..) is not free as far as I know.

 

[svt923]

Body licensing (Chevy, Ford etc..) is not free as far as I know.

I remembered Dale Epp from Protoform (onroad division of Proline) talking about this on another forum:

After 24 years of doing this and finding myself in some very difficult and costly situations I've concluded that "I have to pick my battles". Another way to paint a word picture is simply: "Don't poke the bear". There are many automakers that have spent decades creating unique styling cues that bear the "signature look" of the company. BMW has it's twin kidney bean shaped grills, Aston Martin has it's unique grill shape and Mercedes has it's vector logo. They all have these things registered so no one dares mess this these - even the ones that design real 1:1 cars. It's not just the Ferrari Prancing Horse or the Chevy Bowtie symbols that are protected, it's the signature look of the car as well.

Having said that, there are other reason's that we tread lightly when chooseing a new rc body style. There are some auto makers that ask outragious sums of money (McLaren) and some that are reasonable in the money dept. Others will and drag out the licensing process to the point of utter frustration and some that just flat out ignore all your letters and e-mail requests. The odd time there's a company that is easy to deal with and doesn't try to take all your profit and your pocket change - like Mazda!!! They're the best The next time you need a real car - buy a Mazda! There..... I said it.

The worst are the ones that ignore you and then out of the blue they sue you when they see you've done something similar to what they sell. Some companies have internal legal departments that they rely on for basic company $$ income because these same companies will sometimes operate for years in the red. They have loser lawyers that read Car Action magazine and look at Tower catalogues. They attend trade shows where they take pictures and notes. We were once threatened by a company called Visteon. (it was the former electronics division of Ford - like what AC Delco is to Chevy) WHY? Because we had a Visteon decal on a Ford Mondeo sedan on our web site. They were dead serious too - even when we explained why it was there etc. Honestly....they wanted to take us down - over that.

Some rc body companies get away with things because they don't advertise and don't have trade show booths. Eventually.........

You've probably concluded that it's a sensitive topic with me and you're right - because of what's gone on for the last 24 years. Maybe now you have a bit of a snapshot as to why. We now tend to err on the side of caution. I like my occupation, a lot, and those employees that work in the PF division at PL appreciate their jobs as well. We all simply want to continue doing it.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

So I wonder when Tom@VP was banned? I'm guessing recently but I'm sure that's one of those things we'll never know.

Good catch. Interesting. That that mods in this thread don't know the reasoning makes it even more interesting. The person that banned him would probably unban him now that VP is dumping money into the site. :lmao:

This morning I heard all VP’s cad files were available publicly.. I’m guessing asiatees and the other usual copycat artists are going to have some interesting parts becoming available soon..
I’m not sure exactly what went down and to what extent, but I can’t see the future being too bright for them

You heard, huh? Well show me where you heard these files were put.

He'll never dump the files. That will mean all of his leverage is gone. If he was smart he'd sell them to China. Not that China isn't doing a fine job of reverse engineering.

RC parts licensing is mostly (not all) free. The logic being that the brand is getting free advertising and potentially new customers (kids growing up knowing the brand) for their actual real products at some point.

Body licensing (Chevy, Ford etc..) is not free as far as I know.

Wow that's great info! Now all the sheep that can say "I'll happily pay extra for scale parts just like my 1:1 (insert ruthless and toothless laugh here)" can STFU.

 

[wings_of_fire]

I remembered Dale Epp from Protoform (onroad division of Proline) talking about this on another forum:

Thank you for posting that.

It represents reality of running a business.

 

[wings_of_fire]

He'll never dump the files. That will mean all of his leverage is gone. If he was smart he'd sell them to China. Not that China isn't doing a fine job of reverse engineering.

It depends on the contract that they have signed while starting the business. I am sure its a two way sword for all parties involved.

The chinese won't pay for those designs. They are aware that those designs have been through production and have somewhat saturated the market over time. Anyway, its cheaper for chinese to copy them because nothing binds them from doing so.

What strikes me in all this is that, why did Tom's business partners not give him his tools back? I have a hunch that Tom was given an unfair treatment. We would never know unless the other party counters his claim.

 

[stevem50]

Jato- one of the guys at the hangover run I told you about is who told me.. bigski on here. Was saying they were all public now, if they are or if not it matters none to me, but I’d say in these times of copycat parts so readily available even the rumor of it has to hurt new sales.. there’s a few guys who will only buy the brand name, but there’s many more who will hold out for a better deal


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[JatoTheRipper]

It depends on the contract that they have signed while starting the business. I am sure its a two way sword for all parties involved.

The chinese won't pay for those designs. They are aware that those designs have been through production and have somewhat saturated the market over time. Anyway, its cheaper for chinese to copy them because nothing binds them from doing so.

What strikes me in all this is that, why did Tom's business partners not give him his tools back? I have a hunch that Tom was given an unfair treatment. We would never know unless the other party counters his claim.

The right company would pay the right price for 3D models of complex items like Currie axles, etc...

The whole situation is one man's word against another. I'm not sure why they wouldn't give him his tools back. But if any of this is true he has legal grounds for a lawsuit. Handling it in public makes it seem fishy.

Jato- one of the guys at the hangover run I told you about is who told me.. bigski on here. Was saying they were all public now, if they are or if not it matters none to me, but I’d say in these times of copycat parts so readily available even the rumor of it has to hurt new sales.. there’s a few guys who will only buy the brand name, but there’s many more who will hold out for a better deal


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He said they'd be on Grab A CAD. I checked. I haven't seen them which is why I doubt the claim as well as for the reasons I already stated. The files might be out there somewhere, but I'm still doubting it.

 

[Highmark]

Handling it in public makes it seem fishy.

Yup - he's acting like a child. Even if what he's putting out is true it's not a good look.

I also checked grab cad - natta.

 

[STANG KILLA SS]

I'm curious if the statement about them (VP) not paying for licensing rights is true, and if so, does it apply to other vendors in the marketplace?

I have no clue but it wouldnt suprise me one bit. ie simply asking permision.