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Taki Board Copy

Posted By: Rich Munitz
Date: Wednesday, 16 September 2009, at 6:25 p.m.

In Response To: Taki Board Copy (Phil Simborg)

In the end, all that matters is that Taki is not upset.

But let's not try to say that there is no difference between advancing the art with something truly unique, and designing the look and feel of a new product with a Xerox machine, down to the routing in the wood, the shape of the points, the trays and compartments, the hinges and the locks. Whether Taki or Zavoral or Aires or Crysloid, or whatever, they all have their own clearly distinct character even though they are all backgammon boards and satisfy the same functional purpose. The FM board is a knock-off BY INTENT and that is a bit different. While TD Gammon, Jellyfish, Snowie, GNU, Extreme are all based on the same underlying technology and offer many similar features, and have built upon ideas from earlier products, nobody would look at any one of them and have any confusion about whose product they are looking at and have to pull up the About screen to figure it out.

I saw the FM product and I think it is fabulous. I really like some of the improvements such as the durability and cleanability. But would I feel guilty buying one? You bet. Would I feel the same way if the board had its own distinct look and feel. Not at all (of course I might not like it as much). Would I feel the same way if the creator of the FM boards had simply contacted Taki in advance and said "I love your boards and I'd like to start making similar looking boards with some improvements for the European market - would you be ok with that"? No problem either.

I think this could have been handled better up front to have avoided these kinds of impressions. Whether or not many people believe there is absolutely no problem here, the fact that some are questioning the situation means something - perception is reality. And that could have all been avoided. Has the FM board maker contacted Taki after the fact and said "Hey, sorry I really should have spoken to you first. Are you ok with this.?". And perhaps a gesture of "Here's what I did to improve the product. Feel free to do the same with yours.". Not required by law, but the right thing to do (in my opinion).

I too am done.

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