Russia Claims IP Rights In Manufacture of AK-47

Daniel Dvorkin writes "In the latest example of over-the-top intellectual property demands, Russia wants licensing fees for the production of AK-47s. According to first deputy prime minister Sergei Ivanov, the unlicensed production of Kalashnikovs (which have been around in very nearly their current form for 60 years) in ex-Soviet Bloc countries is 'intellectual piracy.' A giant but declining power starts demanding royalties on commonly used methods and materials that are widely understood, well known, and by any reasonable standard have long been in the public domain — does this sound familiar?" Wikipedia notes that the Izhevsk Machine Tool Factory in Russia obtained a patent on the manufacture of the AK-47 in 1999.

Comments

Re:Sounds fair to me

[Profane MuthaFucka]

Hey you AK-47 nuts out there:

Don't forget to pay your $699 licensing fee, you cock smoking tea baggers.

In Soviet Russia, AK-47 smokes YOUR tea bags.