I know this thread is really old but I just didn't catch your reply and maybe you don't even come to this forum any longer. Yes it is ludicrous the assumption that the frame design used by fBike is some kind of Dahon "ripoff".
Some of you guys get so sensitive when ever an upstart company makes something that resembles your favorite brand, and right away you yell "Ripoff!" Of course I'm not referring to blatant copies like some of the Brompton "clones"; that's something else but let's exercise a little common sense here.
Rant off - Hopefully for good this time about this topic.
Originally Posted by
alhedges
It's not ludicrous at all; design patents have been around for a long time. Ford couldn't just copy the body style of a VW Beetle, and put their own engine and a Ford logo on it; it would infringe on VW's design. This was the problem that Merc ran into, I think, but that the Dahon Curl didn't.
The design patent only covers "ornamental" aspects, though, not functional aspects. Think of the traditional Coca-Cola bottle - Coke didn't have a patent on the "bottles" generally,but they did (maybe still do) have a patent on that particular bottle design.