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Old 08-12-2015, 02:23 PM #1
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Roof rack controversy. Gobi Vs Whitson

Hello all.

I am going to try to keep this short as I don't know the whole story but I'm sure someone can find out more information than me. I'm a long time lurker of the forums.

I purchased a Whitson Metalworks 4th gen rack and was super excited to get it... until I received this email.

Gentlemen,

This email is going out to all of my current, queued customers.

It is with a truly broken heart that I must refund any and all deposits and cancel all orders. Due to very unwelcome and unforeseen legal issues having arisen in this small industry, I am at a stand still as things proceed towards resolution. My hands are tied and I'm well aware that many of your plans will be upset by this sudden cancellation. I have several light bars in the shop and those will be sent to you as quickly as possible. If your deposit was sent via paypal, it will be refunded promptly. Those of you who mailed payment will need to send a mailing address for return payment. Please reply to this email, if necessary, with shipping or mailing instructions.

Thank you all for your support and please accept my most sincere apologies!

Josh Whitson

So after a little digging, it looks like Gobi(Intelligent Designs 2000 Corporation) is suing Josh on some patent issues. In my opinion it feels like Gobi is trying ruin him by tying him up in court over this patent issue. It would be great to hear what everyone thinks about this.

I'm just going to leave this here to be discussed.
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Old 08-12-2015, 02:28 PM #2
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Well.. There go my plans for my next mod. Hope Josh gets through this somehow.
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Old 08-12-2015, 03:04 PM #3
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I hate when bigger companies squash the little guys. Not sure if Josh took ideas from their design, or what. Just hate to see things like this.
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Old 08-12-2015, 03:11 PM #4
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Well it doesn't take a genius to see that the designs are very similar. As far as patents are concerned I don't really see what Gobi has that is so special even if I am the proud owner of a Gobi rack. I can see Bajarack having a patent on their Spylight system but Gobi I don't see.
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Old 08-12-2015, 05:28 PM #5
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Josh has been doing Buisness for several years and it's taken gobi this long to say something? Sounds fishy to me. I personally love my WM rack and will always support small businesses. Wish I knew more details so I can support Josh.
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Old 08-12-2015, 05:51 PM #6
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That sucks if that's whats actually happening. I was on the waiting list as well and got the same email. I asked if he thinks he will be producing more racks later on and he said "Due to the slow nature of any legal issue, it will likely be quite a while before I build another rack."

I think you may be right, gnargnarpowpow, about the issue, that's something I could see happening unfortunately. I'm hoping another member here will come up with a design for a 3rd gen rack of his own that I like and I'll go with that most likely then. I never wanted to pay the ridiculous price for a Gobi rack and if they are going around eliminating small business' like Josh's then I am even less inclined to support them.
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Old 08-12-2015, 05:54 PM #7
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That really blows of big companies doing this to small companies because they know the small companies can't afford to fight back. Reminds of Metaltechs lawsuit against Demello Offroad and a bunch of other small fab companies on their slider "kickout" patent. It's a damn dirty shame, it's not like the big companies aren't making tons of money as is.
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Old 08-12-2015, 06:31 PM #8
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Every company starts somewhere and it's usually small. They create products and hopefully have the intelligence to stake claim on a patent. Consider that Gobi at some point was as small as Josh @ Whitson. I have nothing in this fight and only wish that it be resolved correctly and through proper legal action. If in fact Whitson Metalworks is infringing on any patents owned by Gobi, then the outcome should be obvious. It's quite possible that Josh didn't know there was an infringement and needs to create a slightly different product so it does not violate any patent laws.

I don't believe Gobi would have the time and effort to "go after" smaller businesses unless it affects their bottom line. It costs larger companies money to bring law suits too. There's also a reason Gobi is a "larger" company and it could have been built on one single patent. I would not want to take that away from them as they've earned it.
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Old 08-12-2015, 06:39 PM #9
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Truly sad I am absolutely hoping there isn't any infringement as the other company is claiming. And if so I hope he can tweak the design a little bit to truly make it his own if thats the case. I will say I do love my WM and if/when I were to get a 5th gen I would support him as well.
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Old 08-12-2015, 06:47 PM #10
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I agree with Ducmonsta on how they probably didn't sue him just for fun and they can afford it (IF that's what is happening). Time will tell who was wrong and right. But in the nature of supply and demand I've got a WMW 4th gen rack line-x'd that I'd be willing to sell to anyone who really wanted one.
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Old 08-12-2015, 07:46 PM #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducmonsta View Post
Every company starts somewhere and it's usually small. They create products and hopefully have the intelligence to stake claim on a patent. Consider that Gobi at some point was as small as Josh @ Whitson. I have nothing in this fight and only wish that it be resolved correctly and through proper legal action. If in fact Whitson Metalworks is infringing on any patents owned by Gobi, then the outcome should be obvious. It's quite possible that Josh didn't know there was an infringement and needs to create a slightly different product so it does not violate any patent laws.

I don't believe Gobi would have the time and effort to "go after" smaller businesses unless it affects their bottom line. It costs larger companies money to bring law suits too. There's also a reason Gobi is a "larger" company and it could have been built on one single patent. I would not want to take that away from them as they've earned it.
Oh I definitly agree, they worked to get there and they deserve it but it seems like more often than not they are suing over something small and petty. I guess we won't know for a while what is truly happening if we ever do at all.

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Originally Posted by philskeeter View Post
I agree with Ducmonsta on how they probably didn't sue him just for fun and they can afford it (IF that's what is happening). Time will tell who was wrong and right. But in the nature of supply and demand I've got a WMW 4th gen rack line-x'd that I'd be willing to sell to anyone who really wanted one.
If that fit a 3rd gen I'd be driving down to T-Town to pick it up right now haha
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Old 08-12-2015, 07:57 PM #12
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That's too bad. Wonder what exactly happened? I spoke to him recently about a rack for my 5th gen. I mean how different can these racks get? Between all of the companies, they look very similar to each other. Surprised we don't hear of more of this going on not only with roof racks. Look at the roof top tents. Every one of those look the same. Same goes for bumpers, skids and sliders.
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Old 08-12-2015, 10:35 PM #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by philskeeter View Post
I agree with Ducmonsta on how they probably didn't sue him just for fun and they can afford it (IF that's what is happening). Time will tell who was wrong and right. But in the nature of supply and demand I've got a WMW 4th gen rack line-x'd that I'd be willing to sell to anyone who really wanted one.
Price?
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Old 08-13-2015, 01:36 AM #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cbielat View Post
That's too bad. Wonder what exactly happened? I spoke to him recently about a rack for my 5th gen. I mean how different can these racks get? Between all of the companies, they look very similar to each other. Surprised we don't hear of more of this going on not only with roof racks. Look at the roof top tents. Every one of those look the same. Same goes for bumpers, skids and sliders.

It's possible there isn't a patent involved with RTTs. You can find a cookie cutter for almost anything in consumer products. Just look at all the look alike Yeti coolers.
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Old 08-13-2015, 06:16 AM #15
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So sad to hear this..... I love my WM rack and Josh is a stand up guy....
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