“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” is the quote that many companies protective of their intellectual property hate. Especially if that imitation is not a licensed one, the company owning the design or invention tend to lose money in terms of royalties.
Unfortunately, such form of flattery is very much rampant in airsoft. From weapon designs to tactical gear, the airsoft market is awash in products that are not licensed. Thus, it is not unusual to hear news about this company suing that company for intellectual property violations. As for the airsoft players, they are ambivalent about it as long as they get the airsoft gun they want based on the gun design they admire, or be able to own an airsoft gun or gear at a lower price.
The latest airsoft manufacturer to get the ire of a firearms company is E&L Airsoft. E&L Airsoft, also known as a EMEI-Landarms, a business which is based in Mainland China, has been producing much admired AK AEGs as they of high quality and durability. Apart from that, they are quite affordable. They have a good list of AK AEGs that are in high demand and one of this is the E&L ELAK 710 SBR Gen.2 AEG.
Unfortunately, U.S.-based Rifle Dynamics say that the E&L ELAK 710 SBR Gen. 2 is based on their RD 710 SBR, copying the externals with the exception of their logo.
Whilst they admit that they don’t make much on royalties licensing name logo to Echo1 USA, they respect the company for having approached them to license the name. The comments on the Facebook post can also give us an insight about licensing by firearms manufacturers to airsoft manufacturers, which are well kept secrets especially in terms of royalty payments.
It’s hard to deny for E&L Airsoft that it is not copying as the name of the E&L version of the RD710 also takes the 710 SBR name. One thing that that we notice here is the in the U.S., the distributor of E&L Airsoft products is JAG Precision, which carries the Echo1 airsoft products. But there is no Echo1 RD710 SBR airsoft rifle yet, just the AK700 (based on the RD701) and HMG. No news if they will be releasing a fully licensed RD710 airsoft rifle.
It would have been all right if all airsoft manufacturers would come to their senses and realise that taking a license on whatever product that is already owned by somebody else would make the world of airsoft a better place. So far, that is not going to happen yet, until the customer base start taking their money and buying from companies that are ethical.