WMW, Gobi just won't quit

[CPT2nr88]

But Gobi is not exactly big company nor deep in funds either....

How did Gobi do against Baja?? Anyone know?

The Baja Case court date is set for November 10th and there has been very little activity on the Baja side from what I can see. I do not see anything recent activity. Doesn't even look like Baja as responded to the summons, although I do not even see proof of the summons being delivered. They have 21 days to respond or to request court appearance once it is served to them.

As for Gobi/ID2's pockets. I cannot say for sure, how deep they actually are. but they definitely appeared to be deeper than WMW. But from what I can see they have a long(10+ years) relationship with Sheridan Ross P.C. so they may have some agreement worked out with them. I know a lot of companies that don't have an in house legal team have arrangements like that.

 

[Thai]

The Baja Case court date is set for November 10th and there has been very little activity on the Baja side from what I can see. I do not see anything recent activity. Doesn't even look like Baja as responded to the summons, although I do not even see proof of the summons being delivered. They have 21 days to respond or to request court appearance once it is served to them.

As for Gobi/ID2's pockets. I cannot say for sure, how deep they actually are. but they definitely appeared to be deeper than WMW. But from what I can see they have a long(10+ years) relationship with Sheridan Ross P.C. so they may have some agreement worked out with them. I know a lot of companies that don't have an in house legal team have arrangements like that.

Thanks dude for the update...Baja vs. Gobi will be interesting.

 

[BrianSD_42]

I appreciate the support, but this thread really is counterproductive and I'd appreciate it if you would remove it. Bottom line - after meeting with my own intellectual property experts, I have made the decision to change my design. I met with the owners of GOBI, and they were cool enough to work with me to find a solution that worked for both of us. They're a good company.

OP,

He is asking you to remove it. You can easily do by going the first post then to edit, advanced, click delete, confirm, delete.

 

[CPT2nr88]

OP,

He is asking you to remove it. You can easily do by going the first post then to edit, advanced, click delete, confirm, delete.

Nope, Gobi is just asking to delete it.

 

[wadle5]

OP,

He is asking you to remove it.

As discussed HE really is not. It is Gobi making him make the request. As previously pointed out. As the other threads show he has one prepared response that he is allowed to respond with, and nothing else is voiced when asked. So I would disagree he is not asking.
But again deleting the originals help no one. As also pointed out, they were locked and the dust settled. It was fair for everyone to at least see these threads. But now they are being deleted and just causing more confusion than clarification.


Edit: Since WMW can't say anything we could always ask Paul or @whohastime what the rulings were? I mean they are both members of this forum as well. . .

 

[nevada]

OP,

He is asking you to remove it. You can easily do by going the first post then to edit, advanced, click delete, confirm, delete.

why would he though?

there is far too much censoring going on in this forum. its pretty ridiculous actually.

not just this stupid rack situation either, it has happened more than a few times in the past. I don't think its ADMIN either, I believe there are a few mods that are taking their position a little too far, and a little too personal.

 

[ret42]

Funny how I keep coming back to this topic. I must have typed out a reply to one of these threads at least 4 or 5 times and never submitted it, but here I am again... Before you get your pitchforks ready, bear in mind that I don't have a stake in this argument, just trying to share my perspective. From what I've seen around here even before this whole debacle started, I would have probably gone with WMW over Gobi based on customer service reviews alone.

That said, this whole time I've been more sympathetic to Gobi than a lot of you have, and I think that's based on my perspective. I work for a small company in the sports & outdoors industry - another passion driven industry. I'd prefer it be left out of this thread, but if you're that curious you can probably dig it up easily enough, just please keep it to yourself. My company has had designs, and even entire products stolen from us, and while we haven't sued anyone for patent infringement yet, it has definitely created some rocky relationships, both with other companies and even within our own company. I think the reason I sympathize with Gobi most is that if we were to sue someone, we would be seen as the big bad evil company, but we would legitimately be protecting our intellectual property, and protecting the jobs and futures of our employees. Whether this was Gobi's motive or not obviously I can't say.

I also would say how they've presented themselves on this forum is shady at best. I get one of their employees getting on here to defend them. Again, this is a passion driven industry and their employees are passionate about what they do, and who they work for - this is a good thing. The execution wasn't the greatest, but the intentions are honestly, encouraging. It also suggests that Gobi isn't this big, bad corporation that is just hiring drones to work all day for minimum pay and no appreciation for their jobs. At least they're passionate drones that work for minimum pay. As for trying to have threads deleted for the sake of their public image, I get it, but I also disagree with it. Their public image is something they probably didn't account for, considering their previous lawsuits have been over cell phone cases or whatever it was.

Lastly, don't be so quick to blame Gobi for scripting Josh's statements. It could be something that his Lawyer advised. Even if it is scripted, it could be true that they were easy to deal with. One thing that's for certain, there's nothing we as a community can do to help Josh short of giving him our support if and when he does start making new products. Bashing Gobi isn't going to help Josh get going again, and honestly, if Gobi is the bad company that you're all making it out to be, it will just make it more difficult. Again, I don't know that Gobi isn't demanding Josh not speak up, but we're making a lot of assumptions here.

These types of legal battles sap the energy of all involved and they can distract you from your future goals and plans...No matter who is right and who is wrong, both parties brands get hurt.

...

After my first beating in a patent case, I decided never again...let the free market reign, but I will protect myself.

My guess is that Gobi's victory is bittersweet, if it is not now, it will be, and Josh wants to get on with life...kill this thread, and Let sleeping dogs lay.

If you really want to support Josh, encourage him to get the bumper plans, and slider plans together, pricing, and then buy a set...but be advised, I think I am already ahead of you on the list.

This is good insight for me as someone going through getting patents right now. I would want to fight tooth and nail to protect my intellectual property. Having seen how this mess is unfolding, as well as how other law suits have come out in the past (Smart Parts vs AKA for those of you that played paintball, for example), I can definitely see how it would be draining for anyone involved. Especially working in passionate industries.

*Would love to know the terms of the Agreement (anyone ask Gobi?)

My guess is that the terms are confidential, and we won't know much else unless something gets leaked online, or if/when WMW releases a new product we will see what changes are made.

All that said, I wish Josh the very best and hope that he hasn't been too traumatized from this whole ordeal, and I hope that we see some new product from him soon.

 

[Natey]

They can censor a couple threads about people squabbling over money all they want. Why keep bringing it up? They sued each other, and the loser had to admit they were wrong then publicly brown nose the winner. Standard stuff.

I must be the minority, and I'm sure someone here is gonna put me in my place because I know nothing except what I've read in like a half dozen of these threads, but I could care less who sells 1600 dollar roof racks.

 

[Range]

Word is Gobi requested WM make his racks round instead of flat because they invented flat surfaces in 1000 B.C.

 

[philskeeter]

They can censor a couple threads about people squabbling over money all they want. Why keep bringing it up? They sued each other, and the loser had to admit they were wrong then publicly brown nose the winner. Standard stuff.

I must be the minority, and I'm sure someone here is gonna put me in my place because I know nothing except what I've read in like a half dozen of these threads, but I could care less who sells 1600 dollar roof racks.

x2 on that perspective. It's unfortunate but so is life sometimes. You can bounce back from anything as long as you try. what happened is unfortunate but I don't know any legitimate facts so I can't make a strong argument on either side. There's much more things to be worried about in life than things like these(money related). Heck a few weeks ago a black man ran up to a cop at home depot and shot him point blank for no reason. That was about 5 miles from my parents house in a good area. Now that is a flawed person **rant over

 

[BrianSD_42]

Btw,

AlexJ I appreciate the way you want to keep this going but restarting with a better title would be better for WMW. Why dont you start a thread called "bad vendor practices" and mention the parties in the text but not the title. I don't think this thread is going to help WMW out.


It is not censorship if Josh asks OP to stop this thread or create a new one with a less controversal title and then the OP decides on his own to remove it. It is AlexJ's choice. That is not censorship.

People seem to not understand what is censorship. For example is not censorship is when state government votes/decides to take down a flag that is flying over the statehouse because the public no longer wishes it to be there.

What IS censorship would be for a mod to just delete the thread like a panicky parent.

What IS censorship would be for the government to tell you canNOT fly the flag of your choice at your private residence or business. Or if they tell you cannot publish this book or comment. Such as in multiculturalist Germany and Britain where it is ILLEGAL to say something along the lines of "religion X is a bunch crap and horrible" or "People X are scum" or whatever. They have criminal laws that will put you in jail for insulting other peoples identity, religion, culture etc. America has no such protections because we are the greatest and we let people think for themselves. We believe our public can take it and freedom of speech is the highest value.

Clear enough?

 

[wadle5]

Btw,

People seem to not understand what is censorship.
Clear enough?

Not really clear, more convoluted.


"Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other groups or institutions.[1]

Governments, private organizations and individuals may engage in censorship."

So I would actually argue it IS censorship, and everything else of your post were just random tangents.

But none the less that is just the dictionary definition, Maybe you are right Brian. . . .

 

[nevada]

Btw,

AlexJ I appreciate the way you want to keep this going but restarting with a better title would be better for WMW. Why dont you start a thread called "bad vendor practices" and mention the parties in the text but not the title. I don't think this thread is going to help WMW out.


It is not censorship if Josh asks OP to stop this thread or create a new one with a less controversal title and then the OP decides on his own to remove it. It is AlexJ's choice. That is not censorship.

People seem to not understand what is censorship. For example is not censorship is when state government votes/decides to take down a flag that is flying over the statehouse because the public no longer wishes it to be there.

What IS censorship would be for a mod to just delete the thread like a panicky parent.

What IS censorship would be for the government to tell you canNOT fly the flag of your choice at your private residence or business. Or if they tell you cannot publish this book or comment. Such as in multiculturalist Germany and Britain where it is ILLEGAL to say something along the lines of "religion X is a bunch crap and horrible" or "People X are scum" or whatever. They have criminal laws that will put you in jail for insulting other peoples identity, religion, culture etc. America has no such protections because we are the greatest and we let people think for themselves. We believe our public can take it and freedom of speech is the highest value.

Clear enough?

yes, the previous threads that were deleted would be censorship. both the threads on this subject, and others in the past.
plus posts that are deleted.

of the forums im on, this one has the most aggressive mods, in regards to deleting/removing content.

 

[CPT2nr88]

yes, the previous threads that were deleted would be censorship. both the threads non this subject, and in the past.
plus posts that are deleted.

I'm with Wadle5 and Nevada. It's censorship. Requested on behalf of GOBI/ID2 through a confidential agreement that forced Josh to request it as well and blindly enforced by the moderators.

Now wait a second... how could I know there is a confidential agreement... well honestly I don't. and lets pretend for a second that there isn't. Then its Censorship on behalf of GOBI/ID2 and WMW. That doesn't make it any better. It would be like the democrats and the republicans working together to cover up a government accident. Sure its nice that they are working together... but it still doesn't make it the right thing to do.

 

[BrianSD_42]

I definitely think mods deleting it is censorship.

But if Josh asks us not to start threads with his companies name in the title and states this particular thread is not helping , which he did, then OP removing the thread by choice is not censorship.

No different than if a neighbor asks you to take down your flag and you choose to comply which is not censorship.

If the sheriff comes by and uses the power of law to force you to take it down that is censorship.

I think it is clear although many claim to not understand it.

Which is why I gave examples.

 

[Bigshankhank]

I definitely think mods deleting it is censorship.

But if Josh asks us not to start threads with his companies name in the title and states this particular thread is not helping , which he did, then OP removing the thread by choice is not censorship.

No different than if a neighbor asks you to take down your flag and you choose to comply which is not censorship.

If the sheriff comes by and uses the power of law to force you to take it down that is censorship.

I think it is clear although many claim to not understand it.

Which is why I gave examples.

Agreed. FWIW I have read most of each of the threads on this topic (including this one) and while I am not in the market for a rack and have no affiliation for either party, if one or both, and in this case especially the one who came out on the losing end of the reference legal action and therefore has the biggest axe to grind over the whole thing, has requested that it at least be locked if not removed, then as a courtesy it would be the right thing to do to abide by his request. It could very well be perceived that if he does not actively campaign to remove or stop threads like this, that he is in fact inciting slander against the other party.

 

[CPT2nr88]

Does anyone know of any forums that Baja Racks is active on? I'm curious to hear what is going on on their end and if Gobi just sent them a complaint "not a lawsuit" as Paul mentioned in the original thread. LOL

 

[7echo]

What a mess,

*Deleting Threads on the forum that provide information about companies (opinions and A-holes included) should not be done

*Everyone is free to make an opinion based on the information available, hopefully they understand that they may not have all the facts and avoid mob mentality but people who think just because we don’t know EVERYTHING that no opinion/decision should be made are nuts.....I make calls every day with less than all the facts, welcome to life.

*There is a fine line between posting the facts/asking questions and turning into online mobs

*Racks are similar, no doubt about it but so is every LED bar I have seen, or dinner plate, or cell phone, hammer.....anything that is designed to do a specific task will likely be similar as they will be working within the same constraints and trying to accomplish the same goal

*Just because the Law allows you to do something does not mean you should

*Gobi is not a large company

*Shame that this occurred, I would like to know Gobi’s opinion on who benefited from it – Does anyone really win a war or fist fight?

*Would love to know the terms of the Agreement (anyone ask Gobi?)

*Still love my Gobi rack for the product it is but have a bad taste in my mouth about the company and its handling of this issue

I am not sure how big Gobi is, I read they had 30 guys there somewhere on a forum. That is about 28 more than what Josh had I think. So while they are not Intel sized they are significantly larger than WMW. One of the things that is stinky to me is that Gobi went straight to confrontation, not conversation. If they had gone to WMW and said 'Dude, we have a patent and this part of your rack looks like our stuff, please change it" it would have been better for all involved(except the lawyers, obviously). If WMW decided to ignore them they could have brought out the guns. It smells like Gobi is seeking money for patent infringement. Surely they weren't concerned about the enormous market share WMW was taking from them? I mean, it appears he is making these items as a side line.

I would like to know the terms as well, but chances of that are really slim.

 

[ajonesnv]

Concerning this threads legitimacy, I have had given it though and I will not delete it nor ask the mods to step in. I welcome any parties involved to PM me and request it, but I doubt that will happen. Like I said, I'd much rather be wrong about WMW's position than to assume all is well and let Gobi have more info buried. I have a very good feeling this should stay open and active.

 

[T4R2014]

Any new news?