[geeks] DMCA strikes again?

[Kurt Huhn]

Being an avid paintball player, I've also been known to dabble in airsoft
collecting.  Recently, in order to fund the purchase of a new paintball gun,
I decided to sell one of my airsoft pistols - a Glock knockoff made by KWC
(Kein Well Corp, Taiwan).

I listed it on eBay, and bidding was pretty fierce - it reached $60 from a
$14.95 starting price within 3 days.  I thought it was odd, but didn't
complain.  At 10PM on the third day of the listing I recieve an email from
eBay, exeprted below:
-----------------------
We regret to inform you that your listing:
1010959360 KWC Glock 17 gas airsoft replica
has been ended at the request of Glock, Inc., a member of eBay's Verified
Rights Owner (VeRO) Program, because they filed a sworn statement that it
offers a product or contains material which violates their copyright,
trademark or other rights.  In the interest of protecting all eBay users, we
end such listings to avoid any association with potentially infringing or
unlawful items.
------------------------

So, says I, WTF!!?  I mean, what copyright?  The pistol carries no Glock
logos, and certainly doesn't pretend to be a 9mm handgun.  All Glock logos
are replaced with KWC logos, and the Austrian emblem on the side does not
exist on the KWC lookalike.

After some research, I find that there are *no* Glock lookalikes available
for sale inside the US, with the exception of a Japanese maker, KSC.  KSC
makes fine replicas, and has licensed the use of the Glock logo from Glock,
Inc (I also own one of these).

Further research reveals that websites that *did* offer Glock replicas from
various compaines, no longer do - and none will talk about why.  One site,
Tapco.com, simply states that they are no longer being imported.

However, KWC is still importing several other replicas and lookalikes -
including tons of Colt 1911 knockoffs.  So the company is still in business,
just not importing anything even remotely Glock-ish.  In fact, they still
produce Glock knockoffs - they just never make it to the US.

Glock, and the agent that requested the auction be ended, have yet to
respond to emails and phone calls.

Hmmmmmm.......

It used to be that copyright laws were very clear cut, and something was
allowed to *resemble* another product, as long as logos and trademarked
markings were not used.  I suspect, that import laws allowed KWC (and other
companies) to import Glock look-alikes, because not a single one carried the
Glock logo - despite resembling the overall shape of a Glock.

Could it be that Glock has invoked the broad powers of the DMCA and stopped
import of anything that resembles a Glock - save for licensed trademark
users like KSC?  This is a *very* recent developement, and seems to fall
within the last 3 months...

What would Glock, Inc hope to gain from taking this action?

Kurt