What about patents

[Akira]

Hello from Spain,

long time ago, I started with all this kind of gear maker thing, always as a hobby, but.... What happens if we decide to try it as a business? I mean, there a lot of patents out there... can I laser cut a fabric instead of use webbing for PALS with small square holes or should I invent a new type of hole? Can I make new flaps style for Crye vests using their 4 straps attachment? or new vests that accepts those Crye flaps?

I'm really lost...

[essal]

You basically need to do your research to figure out if things are patented or not. It's very time consuming and quite frankly not something that I would invest any time into.

Regarding laser cutting fabric to make a PALS grid for a load bearing purpose is claimed by several companies, but there are tons of more people who do it. I don't think their claims hold any water, but I'm no patent lawyer. Like ALWAYS, make something your own, so don't copy someones cut or pattern.
You can absolutely make flaps for a Crye vest and new vests that accept existing products. I don't know if their 4 straps are patented, but I highly doubt it because it's nothing new- or you can use a different system that works with it. Like maybe it's flawed, and can be made even better?

Honestly, you do your designs without any worry of a potential existing patent. There are patents for pretty much everything, and that just prohibits innovation if you know about them. Just don't copy anyone.

(if it's not clear, I'm obviously not a lawyer and for the most part I have no respect for broadly written patents- but I do hold design rights very high)

[Akira]

Thanks for reply...

I haven't found patents about flaps or zip-on panels (Crye), only Skeleton cummerbund:

... The bands may be sewn with regularly spaced vertical seams to each other or to a plastic substrate...

So, basically we can't sew two straps (each other) for making PALS holes, but I've found few cummerbunds like this or with a small portion at the end.

Some of my own designs are improvements like: QD "skeleton" cummerbund or flaps with new pouches that Crye don't have, because I think Crye has a really good platform, so instead making a new platform, I want to add more "sugar"... But if we can't sew two straps like that or use their flaps-straps or zip-on-zippers ...

This make me sad...

[essal]

Oh you're overthinking it my friend.

The quote is from the the skeleton cummerbund. It doesn't apply to straps or anything else, it applies to the specific construction used in the skeleton cummerbund and nothing else. It's important to understand that patents only apply (even when broadly written) to a single thing, and that all the words are what make it protected, not a single sentence in the document. "This is a sewn garment" doesn't mean that whoever had that sentence first owns the patent to EVERY sewn garment.

You can make zip on panels, you can make flaps, you can basically make whatever you want- but you can't copy their stuff. When I say copy, I mean total 100% copy. You can make a piece of fabric with 4 strips of velcro, and you can make a piece of fabric with 2 zippers that happen to fit their zipper set-up. This isn't illegal or even close to pushing boundaries.

Just don't copy them, and you'll be fine. Worst case is probably a C&D should your stuff become extremely popular- as long as it actually violates anything which isn't sure at all.