cam grind protection? Patent, Copyright?
02-13-2002, 12:07 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
cam grind protection? Patent, Copyright?
Just curious, how do cam grinders protect their IP (Intelectual Property)? I assumet that someone, back in the 1600s or 1700s, patented the camshaft, but how do companies like Crane and others protect their grinds today? The reason I ask is that when I had my engine rebuilt a couple years ago, the machine shop put in a cam from a local cam grinder. When I called that grinder to find out what the specs were, they told me it was a copy of the Crower Baja cam. It doesn't seem that it would be legal to copy another company's grind.
Any insights?
Any insights?
02-13-2002, 06:51 PM
#2
Burning Brakes
Re: cam grind protection? Patent, Copyright? (john73bb)
I'm pretty sure you couldn't get a patent on it because prior art could probably always be proven. I think it's probably just a situation where each cam company has developed their own cams, they think theirs are the best and don't have any reason to copy anyone else's cam.
Maybe it's an unwritten rule, you don't copy somebody's cam and produce it en masse? I really doubt you could actually protect it.
Maybe it's an unwritten rule, you don't copy somebody's cam and produce it en masse? I really doubt you could actually protect it.
02-13-2002, 07:20 PM
#3
Race Director
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St. Jude Donor '09
Re: cam grind protection? Patent, Copyright? (ddn)
I don't think its the grind that they are worried about, I think its the quality and metalurgy that they are selling when you buy a name brand
over Bubba Buthead's we-do-it-cam crunchers
over Bubba Buthead's we-do-it-cam crunchers
02-14-2002, 01:18 AM
#5
Racer
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Re: cam grind protection? Patent, Copyright? (john73bb)
Every rebuilder in the world grinds "stolen" cam profiles. Did you think that they were licensing the stock chevy grinds from GM when they sell you a stock rebuilt engine? Hell no. They just buy a new cam, slap it into the ol' Storm Vulcan, put the lobe-follower on it, and grind up a master. That's the way it's always been. As long as the guy running the Parkerizer (hardening tank) knows what he's doing, there's very little difference in life expectancy between a factory billet and a regrind ( I have an old Dodge 318 with 225k on a regrind...).
Since different brands of engines use different valve train geometry, a lot of grinders "invent" cam grinds by slapping a ford profile on a chevy billet or vice-versa. (the common "RV grind" is usually a result of that type of unholy marriage :)) It's probably illegal to copy and sell someone else's cam profile, but I don't think you can patent the shape of the lobe by itself - I believe ALL the cam specs make up a patent, so all you'd have to do to beat it would be to change the overlap by a half a degree and *presto* - it's a new grind!
Since different brands of engines use different valve train geometry, a lot of grinders "invent" cam grinds by slapping a ford profile on a chevy billet or vice-versa. (the common "RV grind" is usually a result of that type of unholy marriage :)) It's probably illegal to copy and sell someone else's cam profile, but I don't think you can patent the shape of the lobe by itself - I believe ALL the cam specs make up a patent, so all you'd have to do to beat it would be to change the overlap by a half a degree and *presto* - it's a new grind!
