Cambo WRS camera – HANDGRIP DESIGN – something I have to say

[duongvanlong]

Mr. Shen Guoqing, from Nanjing China, is one who are good at wood engraving handcraft. There are many photography lovers who go to him asking for design and making up of wooden handgrip for them. Mr. Shen Guoqing always accepts. Each twin handgrip would be done exactly by the hand shape of each person.
April. 2010, from the go-between Mr. Liu desheng, a man named Liu zhaosheng went to Mr. Shen Guoqing asking for a design a handgrip for his Cambo camera. Mr. Shen Guoqing agreed. Some days later, Liu zhaosheng brought one cambo WRS camera from Guangdong to Shen guoqing’s home in Nanjing city. Shen Guoqing used gymsum to get Liu zhaosheng’s hand shape. It took Shen guoqing a month to design,make,engrave this handgrip.
May. 2010, Liu zhaosheng brought another man bareheaded (no hair) (in 2012 Shen Guoqing knew this man was the boss of Nexor. Nexor is the distributor of Cambo in China.). They three met in a small coffee bar. The bareheaded man took the gymsum model and the wooden handgrips away.
May. 2010, Liu zhaosheng secretly sent a SMS to Shen Guoqing’s mobile phone, saying: this handgrip, designed by me, made by you, should be kept secretly and do not tell anyone. Shen guoqing was confused but he did probe into this matter.
In the year 2012, Cambo announced a its WRS camera version with wooden handgrip. It’s until now Shen Guoqing realized that the handgrip was exactly the same as his design for Liu zhaosheng. GESUS CHRIST! They make a lot of denies, saying: the handgrip is cooperated and co-designed by Liu zhaosheng and Nexor company!!!
Well, I don’t want to say more but to show the fact to the world. Right now there are heated discussion and argument in China, especially on xitek.com website.
The link is http://forum.xitek.com/thread-973639-1-1-1.html . If there is anyone who knows a little bit Chinese, he would totally understand what’s going on.
I would be glad to post more news.

The left picture was designed and made by shen guoqing.
The right picture was later the announce by Cambo to be their new version.

[duongvanlong]

Handgrip designed by Shen guoqing

[duongvanlong]

wooden handgrip designed by Shen guoqing

[duongvanlong]

all the picture i do printscreen from the website http://forum.xitek.com/thread-973639-1-1-1.html .
it's all about the dissatisfaction on Liu zhaoqing and Cambo camera who steal the Shen guoqing's design but declare they are the original designer.

GOD!!!

This is the matter of human nature. Of course you could use shen guoqing's design. But PLEASE, tell him you will use it. please at least let the designer know what's your purpose! Please do not take shen guoqing's design in such a way so that after two years, shen guoqing know what you will do.

look at previous version of cambo - metal handgrip. No matter from which way, it is soooooo....... I dont want to say the word. How could they design a wooden handgrip which is almost in the same style of shen guoqing! only one word: steal!! oh, this word is not so nice. Maybe I should use "take" as they say in China.

look at the fact of the design of shen guoqing - of course you could distinguish who is the real desinger!

[duongvanlong]

look at previous version of cambo - metal handgrip. No matter from which way, it is soooooo....... I dont want to say the word. How could they design a wooden handgrip which is almost in the same style of shen guoqing! only one word: steal!! oh, this word is not so nice. Maybe I should use "take" as they say in China.

[skimasks]

Thank you for pointing this out. This is very disappointing. How much does he charge for a set of these grips? I was originally thinking of getting some of the wooden grips from Cambo but after reading this I am skeptical. Perhaps if more people went to the source, Cambo might get the message.

Justin

[mmurph]

My first response is that it is terrible if Cambo has ripped off his Intellectual Property as you describe.

I do have to say that I owned an older Cambo Wide that I purchased at least 6 years ago from Canada that had a wooden handle. (picture below)

I don't know where the handle came from or who put it on, as I bought it used.  It may be that this is something that Cambo has done previously, or that it is a "common practice" in the field.

That still does not justify stealing Intellectual Property, whether through a 3rd party or directly on Cambo's part.  The creator should receive compensation from Cambo if his design is in fact being used.

I would mention, too, that this type of thing is not unheard of. There is a quite famous case of the original inventor of the windshield wiper suing Ford, GM, and Chrysler for stealing his design. He was unlimately successful in US courts.

Good luck!   


 

[Clyde RF]

One of the more flagrant examples of the type of behavior being discussed was that of Leo Fender's (Fender Guitars) stealing the well known guitar neck design with tuning pegs all on one side of the peg-head from Roy Bigsby.   

[buckshot]

I know that two wrongs don't make a right ... but kind of ironic that we have a western company being accused of allegedly ripping off a Chinese one 

I'm just off to take my Shaunghaun CEO for a spin ... sorry, I meant my BMW X5.

[Brian Hirschfeld]

....unless the individual who went to the artisan signed something say that they would not replicate or copy or resell the item produced, I don't really see the problem.....maybe theres an ethical issue, but someone had something custom made, and paid for it, and then found it to be a good solution and replicated it.

[theguywitha645d]

....unless the individual who went to the artisan signed something say that they would not replicate or copy or resell the item produced, I don't really see the problem.....maybe theres an ethical issue, but someone had something custom made, and paid for it, and then found it to be a good solution and replicated it.

You don't think much of the copyright laws protecting your photography, then? And why pay a wedding photographer for additional copies of his work if I have a scanner.

[Brian Hirschfeld]

nope, if he thinks he has a case, he should sue Cambo, but I doubt that'll happen.

[theguywitha645d]

nope, if he thinks he has a case, he should sue Cambo, but I doubt that'll happen.

Why? Because he can't be bothered? Or Cambo has better lawyers? (Assuming the story is true, of course.) Or you just think it is OK to rip off people's IP.

[Brian Hirschfeld]

He sounds like an artesian and not a business man, so maybe? and I would suspect Cambo would have better lawyers. And assuming its true, it was a custom one off piece for a private client....

[theguywitha645d]

He sounds like an artesian and not a business man, so maybe? and I would suspect Cambo would have better lawyers. And assuming its true, it was a custom one off piece for a private client....

But the client bought the grip, not the design--you cannot assume work for hire. If Picasso paints a picture for you, you don't buy the copyright unless specifically in the contract. And whether you are an artisan, businessman, or a school child, copyright goes to the creator and is only transferred by permission.

[theguywitha645d]

Wow, it is so easy to justify theft.

[erstwhile]

but kind of ironic that we have a western company being accused of allegedly ripping off a Chinese one

My thoughts exactly. Pot, kettle, black......

Your statement basically amounts to the following:

"Since there are companies in China ripping off other people's IP, if some company then proceeds to rip off an individual WHO HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ONES COMMITING IP INFRINGEMENT AND PIRACY, then that individual being ripped off is a hypocrite if he tries to protect his work BECAUSE HE HAPPENS TO BE CHINESE."

Wow. Maybe you have an alternate use for your white muslins too.

[erstwhile]

Personally, I think its hilarious that the shoe is finally on the other foot. Asia has been ripping off the west for decades with flagrant disregard for IP and copyright; it has been nothing short of rampant. So although I feel for the creator of these beautiful handles ('if' he has had his IP stolen) I would not expect to see a lot of sympathy to the cause. As I said earlier above: its the Pot calling the kettle black.

Cambo, may or may not have ripped off the design - at this stage there is no proof and its nothing more than an allegation.

Even 'if' the creator of the handles does decide to sue he better have very deep pockets to fight a battle in the Netherlands. You see, the scales of justice are tipped in favour of he who can pile the most cash on their side of the balance. And Ill wager Cambo's pockets are much deeper with the home ground advantage.

I was composing my previous post before this piece of work went up. Folks, we're now in a ethnocentric/nationalist piss match. I'm out.