(This is a re-write of a post that appeared earlier today.)
That’s one of Brownells’ series of ‘Dream Guns‘ (above), highly customized, one-off project guns Brownells gins up as examples of what’s possible if you want to put some money, time and love into your stock pistol. They use these as come-ons for trade shows and such, as attractions to get passers by to stop and check out their wares. Their latest effort, a Smith & Wesson M&P, wasn’t well received by the venerable Springfield gun maker . . .
They had their IP attorneys send a love letter to Brownells and the other aftermarket companies who collaborated on the M&P Dream gun.
As you can see, SSVI, one of the recipients, wasn’t thrilled to hear that as far as Smith is concerned, the project gun had violated Smith & Wesson’s intellectual property rights. As SSVI so eloquently put it, “@smithwessoncorp shall decide what you, the end user, can and can’t do with their products to make them more ergonomic, fix their horrid trigger system or change any part of it to suit you and your shooting/carrying style.”
That may be taking it a little far. After talking with representatives of SSVI and Apex, it’s clear that Smith isn’t trying to stop your average Joe or Jane from customizing her M&P9 to her heart’s content. They only object to the highly customized version that Brownells is displaying with the M&P logo. Is that a bit much? It would seem so. Showing a tricked out M&P would seem to benefit everyone involved, perhaps Smith most of all.
The companies on the receiving end of the cease and desist request are examining the letter and formulating a response. This may not be exactly popcorn-worthy, but should be interesting to watch. Stay tuned.