This is an open letter to Glen Liberman of Kinekt Design http://www.kinektdesign.com
Apparently I’m not allowed to call this ring a “Gear Ring”
which was my original title (simply because it sort of looks like a gear) because Patent Troll Glen Liberman of Kinekt Design served Shapeways with a “cease and desist” order since they have trademarked the name “Gear Ring” (as well as Gear Necklace, if anyone’s interested). AND it was served just one day after I uploaded the design. If that doesn’t indicate obvious patent trolling with NO human thought behind the ludicrous action now being taken I don’t know what does. Glen claims that Shapeways (through my shop) is “trying to sell a counterfeit item and is in violation of Kinekt and Gear Ring registered domestic and global trademarks” because of their design below:
Wow, yeah the two designs look exactly alike – to a blind person!!
Glen, look for your name to be bandied about many different online forums from this point forward. I hope Kinekt Design likes the good will this sends to your company. Feel free to sue me for all my profits from this ring which wouldn’t even buy you a lunch. That’s if you can prove in court an infringement of the words GEAR and RING for a product that LOOKS NOTHING LIKE YOURS!
Taken from the Kinekt Design website (don’t sue me for stealing, Glen): “By obtaining intellectual property in the form of copyrights, trademarks, and patents, Kinekt is able to stay true to their mission and present you with their best possible designs.”
No, Glen, what that does is prove you are a petty-minded little man.
I understand the need to copyright and trademark products and names but when a product that bears NO resemblance to yours (hell, it’s a stretch to call it a gear) is being sold by a very small designer in a huge sea of designers with next to no profit, is attempted to be shut down, well that just smacks of corporate jack-assedness.
Judging from the number of actual design lookalikes on Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/explore/gear-ring/ – you must be a VERY busy man trying to get papers served on numerous designers around the world.
Hey, Microsoft, why don’t you sue Kinekt for using that name and bringing your name to disrepute!
Merry Christmas, you little Grinch.
Third Dimension Jewellery with HandEye Originals 
Dude, you’re an a$$. Kinekt has been around as far back as 2010, maybe longer. They filed and paid for the paperwork to Patent the name/product/intellectual property (yes, in case you didn’t know, you have to pay for those things). He has every right to go as far as he needs to protect his intellectual property. If you want an example of why that’s important, Google the back story of the now you see it everywhere fidget spinner. She patented the product, forgot to or didn’t have enough money to renew her patent and now they are everywhere and she’s not seeing a dime for designing with the original product.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidget_spinner) While your ring does not resemble the gear ring, clearly, the gear ring is much more detailed and higher quality. I own one, so I know first hand. The troll in this argument is you, suing because big baddy Mr. Liberman doesn’t want you to use his “Gear Ring” name. Shame on you.
I could have simply not “approved” this comment but I let it through anyway…. Sorry, but I still stand by my argument. My ring is nothing at all like his and was never intended to be. It’s the fact that I can’t use the NAME ‘Gear Ring’ in the context of another product that does NOT compete with his that I object to. If the ‘gear’ part of the name had been something unique and of his own creation I wouldn’t have a problem, but the fact of the matter is the word ‘gear’ – I feel – is just too generic to be able to entitle someone to use it exclusively. Where does that end? I could theoretically gain intellectual property rights to the name “Dragon Pendant” and then any time someone designs a pendant that has a dragon theme I can get my lawyer to harass their ass and threaten legal action. Bullshit. Equating my ring with the Fidget Spinner craze is not all similar. Like I said, my product does NOT resemble his. It’s as if I designed a static cube and decided to market it as Fidget Spinner. No-one in their right mind would think my cube and a real spinner were the same product. And your last line is incorrect – I did NOT sue Liberman at all – HE threatened to sue ME unless I stopped using “HIS” product name. So, “shame on you” for standing up for people with money and power to enable them to gain intellectual rights to two words that are in common ordinary usage. Mickey Mouse is one thing, Gear Ring is quite another.
People with money and power??? They are a small family run business, not some huge corporation. I guess we will have to agree to disagree, but he patented “Gear Ring” so it’s his.
If he can hire a lawyer to go after nobody’s around the world, then he/they have some money. But, yeah, we agree to disagree.