Well - possibly the connection of those two topics is caused because they are connected. It is a question of personal attitude abd morale if you mind IP or not. But - as Bonzo said earlier - those clones may also be of different (and possibly lower) quality (as threads in this very forum with experiences with clone Bromptons show). So as long as people claim: It looks a like Brompton and this proves it is as good as Brompton but it only costs a fraction - so this British suckers are ripping you off, neglecting the fact that copying is cheaper than inventing, avoiding quality standards is cheaper and similar looks do not automatically mean similar quality these topics will pop up again and again. Indepedently of patents or not.