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[2020FordRaptor]

Any details on this?

Steeda sent a cease and desist letter to FenFab to stop producing the subframe bushings. Apparently Steeda has a patent pending or something. Cheesy move by them, as they both hit the market at the same time.

 

[Fmoser]

Steeda sent a cease and desist letter to FenFab to stop producing the subframe bushings. Apparently Steeda has a patent pending or something. Cheesy move by them, as they both hit the market at the same time.

Thanks, that sucks

 

[Justinbeez]

Steeda sent a cease and desist letter to FenFab to stop producing the subframe bushings. Apparently Steeda has a patent pending or something. Cheesy move by them, as they both hit the market at the same time.

Looks like I won't be upgrading my bushings then...not going to support a company making cheesy moves.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Looks like I won't be upgrading my bushings then...not going to support a company making cheesy moves.

And to make it even worse, they’ve been saying it’s the customers fault for their crappy pinion bushing failures.

 

[Cruising68]

While I’m no fanboy of Steeda, as a former business owner with intellectual property, I have no problem with a company protecting their intellectual property. Would anybody here be ok if Steeda copied Fenfabs intake and sold them at a discount since the engineering was done? I know if I were Brett, I would be pretty pissed that somebody copied my stuff and started selling it especially if I had started the process to protect my IP.


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[2020FordRaptor]

While I’m no fanboy of Steeda, as a former business owner with intellectual property, I have no problem with a company protecting their intellectual property. Would anybody here be ok if Steeda copied Fenfabs intake and sold them at a discount since the engineering was done? I know if I were Brett, I would be pretty pissed that somebody copied my stuff and started selling it especially if I had started the process to protect my IP.


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Thats what I was originally thinking, but I realized that the Fenfab subframe inserts and Steeda subframe bushings hit the market at the same time, and it was apparent that no one copied each other. This is a bushing we are talking about, not custom designed, unique intake. I don't even know how Steeda could have patented a bushing like that.

 

[Cruising68]

That’s what patents and lawyers are for. Even though people have been screwed by being hours late to file a patent or screwed by bribery, it is the system we have to protect the theft of IP. In order to get a court order, they had to convince a judge that there was a reasonable likelihood they would win their case against them, hence the cease and desist. Unless Steeda attorney just sent them a letter in which case Fenfab could ignore it and take their chances in court.

I will admit it hits close to home for me. I have had engineers develop and designed custom products and had patents only to have a competitor see it, copy it, and steal it. In the end it cost them over a million dollars to settle.

Thieves are everywhere and need to burn in hell as far as I’m concerned.


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[Justinbeez]

That’s what patents and lawyers are for. Even though people have been screwed by being hours late to file a patent or screwed by bribery, it is the system we have to protect the theft of IP. In order to get a court order, they had to convince a judge that there was a reasonable likelihood they would win their case against them, hence the cease and desist. Unless Steeda attorney just sent them a letter in which case Fenfab could ignore it and take their chances in court.

I will admit it hits close to home for me. I have had engineers develop and designed custom products and had patents only to have a competitor see it, copy it, and steal it. In the end it cost them over a million dollars to settle.

Thieves are everywhere and need to burn in hell as far as I’m concerned.


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Still a chicken **** move by a bigger distributor. Like he mentioned above, they came out at the same time, and im willing to bet all they did was mold a bushing. Not much rocket science to that patent. Steeda probably submitted it first. They're pulling those kinds of moves to take out smaller business because from what I've gathered over the forums, Steeda seems to have had the lowest QC issues of all of them in regards to their other products (springs, swaybars, diff supports). I understand patents and theft, again, this isn't a rocket science part, just shady business. Will I buy their part, probably, but that's the only part I'll buy since they now have a monopoly on it. Gave all my business to the smaller guys like Fenfab, Houston, CV, etc.

 

[Cruising68]

Still a chicken **** move by a bigger distributor. Like he mentioned above, they came out at the same time, and im willing to bet all they did was mold a bushing. Not much rocket science to that patent. Steeda probably submitted it first. They're pulling those kinds of moves to take out smaller business because from what I've gathered over the forums, Steeda seems to have had the lowest QC issues of all of them in regards to their other products (springs, swaybars, diff supports). I understand patents and theft, again, this isn't a rocket science part, just shady business. Will I buy their part, probably, but that's the only part I'll buy since they now have a monopoly on it. Gave all my business to the smaller guys like Fenfab, Houston, CV, etc.

Don’t disagree it’s kind of a lame move for such a small cheap part. Funny, they are going to take out fenfab by stopping them from selling a hundred dollar kit. Fenfab products stand on their own quality wise and the products I have bought from them are top notch.

I don’t buy from Steeda any more because their products did not hold up well. I’m also guessing if you had any intellectual property stolen from you in your career, you might have a different viewpoint.


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[2020FordRaptor]

Don’t disagree it’s kind of a lame move for such a small cheap part. Funny, they are going to take out fenfab by stopping them from selling a hundred dollar kit. Fenfab products stand on their own quality wise and the products I have bought from them are top notch.

I don’t buy from Steeda any more because their products did not hold up well. I’m also guessing if you had any intellectual property stolen from you in your career, you might have a different viewpoint.


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This is hardly intellectual property. It’s a simple bushing. From a business prospective, I can see why they did it because Fenfab is eating into their marketing share, nonetheless still a classless move.

 

[Justinbeez]

If anything, it'll just hurt their reputation within the explorer market. Yea, they monopolized a subframe bushing kit, but people will now, hopefully, use smaller businesses for things such as swaybars, springs, and vertical links to name a few that have proven themselves in more than just quality (customer service, community, etc.) Hell, I even dare companies like lethal to remove steeda from their site. Im sure most would support buying fenfab from them or directly over steeda if this was to ever get traction.

 

[Cruising68]

If anything, it'll just hurt their reputation within the explorer market. Yea, they monopolized a subframe bushing kit, but people will now, hopefully, use smaller businesses for things such as swaybars, springs, and vertical links to name a few that have proven themselves in more than just quality (customer service, community, etc.) Hell, I even dare companies like lethal to remove steeda from their site. Im sure most would support buying fenfab from them or directly over steeda if this was to ever get traction.

Agree with that. Between some of their quality issues and then this it definitely makes you want to support somebody else. The free market usually takes care of things like that. Back when I bought mine Steeda was one of few aftermarket options for the Explorer. Not any more, that’s for sure.


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[2020FordRaptor]

If anything, it'll just hurt their reputation within the explorer market. Yea, they monopolized a subframe bushing kit, but people will now, hopefully, use smaller businesses for things such as swaybars, springs, and vertical links to name a few that have proven themselves in more than just quality (customer service, community, etc.) Hell, I even dare companies like lethal to remove steeda from their site. Im sure most would support buying fenfab from them or directly over steeda if this was to ever get traction.

Well Lethal also sells Speedlogix so that says a lot. Steeda does still sell items pretty well, so I don’t think they care, but yeah if something like this gains traction it could be bad.

 

[BrooseDaMoose]

I’m glad I bought mine when I did! I always shop the small business before I go to the big one. I won’t buy from Steeda again just because of this move.


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[Justinbeez]

Well Lethal also sells Speedlogix so that says a lot. Steeda does still sell items pretty well, so I don’t think they care, but yeah if something like this gains traction it could be bad.

I was just reading you guys talking about them last night in another thread saying their stuff is garbage lol.

Agree with that. Between some of their quality issues and then this it definitely makes you want to support somebody else. The free market usually takes care of things like that. Back when I bought mine Steeda was one of few aftermarket options for the Explorer. Not any more, that’s for sure.


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Funny you say that, and it might have been @2020FordRaptor that may have said this in another thread as well, about Steeda pushing out rushed parts. Hence, why they are normally one of the first to come out with products for various vehicles, and first doesn't necessarily mean quality.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

I was just reading you guys talking about them last night in another thread saying their stuff is garbage lol.

Well for the most part, they are. But they sell, which was my point on why Lethal wouldn't stop offering their products.

 

[Justinbeez]

Well for the most part, they are. But they sell, which was my point on why Lethal wouldn't stop offering their products.

Crazy that a company would still continue to sell subpar products even after their defects have been brought up time and time again.

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Crazy that a company would still continue to sell subpar products even after their defects have been brought up time and time again.

Again I say Speedlogix. Lethal could care less, they're just a drop ship company, they don't pay for returns for faulty products.

 

[Justinbeez]

Again I say Speedlogix. Lethal could care less, they're just a drop ship company, they don't pay for returns for faulty products.

True, but they also have their own brand, albeit it is probably a drop shipped brand. I.e. Eibach makes springs for other brands as well. But yes, I would say they are probably 80% drop shipping for the majority of their business.