[Brian Cheney]

I have 15 acoustical patents in my desk drawer, unfiled and undiscussed. Recently I sent eight of them to Mark Shifter who would have to invent the manufacturing techniques to turn these ideas into reality.  Mark assures me these new concepts are buildable, maybe in as soon as a year.  All are intended to be retrofitted into our current and older designs, so there will be no product obsolescence.  So, one of the big benefits for me working with Mark is that finally, I will be able to advance the art with true innovation.  By assigning the patents to Mark in return for royalties, my ideas will be protected worldwide from imitation (not that they would be easy to imitate in the first place).  As I told Mark at the meeting yesterday:"Let's make audio better."  There's no doubt in my mind  this shall come to pass.

[covermye]

Don't get me wrong... I'm completely excited by the "marriage" that has happenned here.  What aggravates me is that there are no wood working shops in all of Northern California that have the abilities of Mark's shop in China.  I can only imagine how frustrated Big B has been in his search for a cabinet maker all this time...

[MaxCast]

I think this goes beyond cabinets.  As Brian's post states, Mark has engineering and manufacturing resources at his disposal to go way beyond cabinets.  Brian now has access to the electronic side of audio with Mark.  Mark's PT gear, SOCS, ABC , etc gets very good reviews.  They know what they are doing.  Makes me want to work for one of them

[ctviggen]

Hi Brian,

Do you really have patents or ideas on paper?  The reason I ask is because it can be dangerous to sit on ideas without actually filing a patent application.  The US is a "first to invent" country, which means that typically a person who invents something will receive a patent over a person having a later date of invention.  However, there are limits to this.  If a person invents something but then does absolutely nothing to "reduce to practice" the invention, another inventor may be given a patent for the invention, even if the other inventor invented the product at a later date.  I say "may" because it's a case-by-case basis.  Also, most (if not all) foreign countries are "first to file" countries, meaning that whoever is the first to file a patent application will be the first to receive a patent, regardless of who invented the invention.  Moreover, public disclosure or sale of a product having the invention generally cuts off any patent rights in foreign countries and will cause time limits to begin running in the US.  Anyway, enough lawyer talk for now!

Although I'm planning on buying VMPS speakers regardless of the cabinet maker, I'm glad that the ball is rolling so fast.  By the time I'm ready to buy (early to mid next year), VMPS should be up and running with the new cabinets.

[toxteth ogrady]

Don't get me wrong... I'm completely excited by the "marriage" that has happenned here.  What aggravates me is that there are no wood working shops in all of Northern California that have the abilities of Mark's shop in China.  I can only imagine how frustrated Big B has been in his search for a cabinet maker all this time...

Being from Northern California I can assure you there are plenty of skilled cabinet makers. But, just like any other skilled workers in the U.S. they expect and deserve a fair wage so they can support their families and pay their mortgages. This is not a knock on Brian as he's doing what's necessary to stay competitive. The real problem is the American consumer, as he/she expects and demands the most for the least amount of money, which is why we see so much manufacturing moving overseas.