Dodge Off Road, sorry if I I didn't give you enough credit on your brace. I am not a company and have made NO offers or attempts to make or sell any braces to anybody. That was brought up by another poster and I replied that I thought you had a patent on it, or at least a pending one. Is that not up front enough? It is a well thought out brace and I will give you all the credit for it. I am not claiming the design as my own at all. Obviously it is similar and that is why I brought up your patent in response. I said "based off of" because having only seen it in the few pictures on your site I have no idea on any specifics regarding mounting or construction. There are only so many logical existing mounting options in that area. I mentioned Dodge Off Road at the beginning for a reason, so people could look your company up and see where the idea came from. If I claimed to create this idea all by myself and then attempted to sell them then you have a right to be angry, but I did no such thing. I posted it on an enthusiasts forum, not some vendor forum. I do not appreciate the negative jab at me by repeatedly calling it a copy and insinuating that I am some shady dishonest individual. Perhaps you could have PM'ed me and I could have clarified further about your brace.
The fact is that I really wanted to get your brace, but had purchased the DSS style before I knew any better. The brace had some major fit issues and after trying to modify it to fit was going to require cutting it apart and it was not returnable as it currently was anyway. I have more time and scrap steel than money. So instead of scrapping $110 and getting your brace at an additional cost, I made one at the cost of only my time and labor using the psc brace. That is a $200 savings to me. If things go south and the brace doesn't work out, I may just end up with one of your braces anyway. Take it as a compliment that if someone tries to copy you then you have probably done something right. And again this was a hobbyist undertaking, made only for myself, to gain experience fabricating stuff, learn something, and have a more involved experience with my new truck.
As far as the steering goes, the old stuff was shot. I did not upgrade looking for the ultimate in strength. The factors were that it needed replacement, it was a T style vs Y, and ultimately cost. I'm not a hard core off roader so I'm sure it will be plenty strong for my purposes.
From now on I promise not to make or create anything for my truck that is not a completely new or revolutionary idea all of my own vision or that incorporates or is similar to any previous design concept or characteristic.
I appreciate that you called it what it is. I hope that you understand where I'm coming from - I didn't spend thousands to protect an idea I came up with, to have someone else copy it. It's already been done once and I dropped the hammer on them quickly. I will not let this product become another DSS brace where it's copied by PSC, Synergy, BD, etc. I am glad that you thought the design was a good one and there is a certain level of flattery when something is copied, but it's on a personal level. From a business standpoint, I can't allow it. Obviously I'm not coming after you for making this one because I realize now that it was just a way to spend some time on your own truck. I just wanted to make sure that:
1) You didn't make others to sell to members on here or anywhere else, and
2) Anybody else who reads this thread understands that I will take them to court if they decide to try #1.
You are asking me to send you a private message, when you couldn't even take the time to email me and ask if it was okay to copy my design? I have had other people email me and ask for help with their projects. Hell, I even sell kits that people can weld themselves if they want to. I'm VERY easy to work with. When I see my invention on a site and other members giving someone else credit for it, that is infuriating. If you ever invent something yourself, you'll understand what I mean.
I do appreciate that you want to work on your truck and be self-sufficient. That's admirable. As far as the mounting options, that's part of the patent. It's not just the way the brace looks, but how it bolts up, how it functions, etc.
And I'm not "mad," I'm protecting what is mine, legally and intellectually.
Not necessarily to bust your chops, but to be totally clear, the "right to be angry" thing absolutely does apply at this stage. You seem to be under the impression that just because you didn't blatantly offer to make and sell them, that I should turn the other cheek. That's not how this works. How would Nike feel if you went and had some shirts made with their logo on it instead of buying one from them? Companies protect their products and image for a reason. I don't want someone to see your brace and think it's a DOR brace when the welds hypothetically fail or when it doesn't work as it should. You already have at least a couple of people posting in this very thread that think you came up with the brace design. Imagine how many more think the same thing but didn't post up.
To me, copying an existing product is an act of dishonesty. I shouldn't have to preach morals on here. You may be the nicest guy in the world... this action is dishonest. I'm not going to pretend I know anything about your character based on one thread on a forum.
Speaking of which...
redthies said:
To DOR:
I just bought another 2nd gen yesterday. I am so happy it already has a steering brace on it so I don't have to deal with a company like yours that obviously would be a nightmare for customer relations.
Less time sucking in welding fumes and more time in anger management and public relations would be a great investment in time for you. I think a PM to either one of us involved in this "heinous patent infringement" would have sufficed. Your FIRST post on a very respectable forum sets a very negative tone.
I agree totally that you have a right to protect your patent, and apologize to you for (sarcastically) asking another member here to make me a brace.
Actually, DOR's reputation for customer service is 100% positive. Google us. Just because you are upset with my response to this thread, doesn't mean we don't provide our customers with awesome service. This isn't about "customer" service, it's about a non-customer copying a patented product and then you asking him to make others. How would I know you were being sarcastic? Or is this one of those instances where you really meant what you said, then when you get caught you just say "oh come on, I was joking." Either way, it's not funny to me. This product and others are what put food on the table for my family. I spent a LOT of time designing this and it's very personal to me.
I'm not a negative person. I've helped Ram owners with their trucks for a decade now, most of it without making a dime off of anybody. DOR was a forum before it was a business and I've proven time and time again that I'm very much into making these trucks better. If you don't want to support DOR, that's fine. But do it for the right reasons. Just because I signed up on here to defend my patent doesn't mean I'm a bad guy. I'm protecting what is mine. A PM to two people would not have stopped the thousands of other people who read this thread and thought "well I could make that and sell it." That's my goal.
I've spent years in public relations, and actually have written articles for business magazines on the subject. I'm also well-versed in ethics and business law.
I won't clutter up your thread any further. If you guys need help with anything, feel free to reach out to me. That would have prevented the whole thing in the first place. See you on the trails.
