Thermaltake 'designs' at Computex 2015 look familiar

[barnsley]

Don't Antec now make a case that looks very similar to the Fractal too?

What are you trying to prove? I'm pretty sure all silent cases look very similar? Its the inside design that tends to differ. Its not like they're making a high airflow case. you kinda have to do certain things to make a case quiet.

I can't find one that antec does though?

 

[JR23]

Wow the hate here is ridiculous. I don't 'like' thermaltake, but there are a lot of brands I don't particularly like. I'm going to weigh in with what I think, this may get long but I think these Tt threads are getting far too one sided. Now i'm not saying i'm standing in Tt's corner though.

Firstly the Caselabs copycat seems to have picked up the most attention around the interwebs, especially after the owners son made a statement. I'm not denying that Tt took Caselabs designs, they did, and I don't condone such actions BUT legally Caselabs really can't do a lot and honestly I don't think they will suffer. People buy Caselabs for the shear fact that they are built by a Family business in the US and they have a phenomenal reputation for quality and Tt can never take that away from them. Their designs aren't particularly special or ahead of the times and while they are distinctive they don't exactly have a cutting edge aesthetic. Without being harsh they are literally Aluminium boxes, I don't have a problem with any of that. Their significant selling point is of course the modularity and flexibility to suit requirements their cases offer, I don't know if Tt will try and implement this. Nothing can stop them but I would be surprised if it made financial sense. So in short I don't think Caselabs can stop them, Tt certainly can't beat them at their own game and they aren't really competition for each other.

The thing I find disappointing is that Tt didn't try and do better, they have the money to get the right people involved and do something magnificent and dare I say it they have the talent and knowledge required to make it happen. Tt aren't idiots, they do innovate, they do have achievements to be proud of.

The article draws attention to some things which are just coincidental in my opinion. Producing acetal blocks and watercooling accessories doesn't make you an EK copycat (although they clearly got a lot of inspiration from their fittings) and the Antec fans may well have the same OEM, not many companies build components in house. I don't know the back story but as I understand the Riing was the first silly hoopy LED fan to market. Loads of silent cases look the same, what are you gonna do.


At the end of all this it is business. If Thermaltake can build something for a lesser cost at consistently higher quality then fair game but I really doubt they can. If they actually manage to sell them in great numbers or not depends largely on their branding and reputation. Their rep here isn't too good lol, but it looks like they are turning their branding around a little with the new logo which is a huge improvement.

I very much doubt anyone is getting sued, by accident Tt must have made something alright which they will probably sell in mediocre numbers, they aren't exactly going to smash any of the respected makers off the face of the earth definitely not Caselabs or EK.

JR

 

[AlienALX]

What are you trying to prove? I'm pretty sure all silent cases look very similar? Its the inside design that tends to differ. Its not like they're making a high airflow case. you kinda have to do certain things to make a case quiet.

I can't find one that antec does though?

I'm not trying to prove anything dude it was a genuine, non argument provoking question :huh:

I'm sure Acemodder posted a video and there was a case that looked like the R5. I could be wrong though it could have been another manufacturer.

 

[barnsley]

I'm not trying to prove anything dude it was a genuine, non argument provoking question :huh:

My apologies then. I must have misunderstood what you were saying.

Loads of silent cases look the same, what are you gonna do.

JR

But unlike other silent cases, the TT one copies Fractal down to a point. The only real difference internally is the use of a 200mm fan in the front.

Now spot the difference, apart from said fan and the obviously cheaper materials.

And a coolermaster Silencio (I don't think they've released their version of the R5 yet)

Yes quiet cases all look the same (mainly due to how you design a quiet case as well) however, unlike NZXT or Coolermaster, the designs are much more similar to the R5.

 

[AlienALX]

Sorry to be pedantic but they all look completely different to me :S

 

[JR23]

I see what you mean, they both have room for motherboards and stuff. All cases are of similar construction and when you remove all features from the exterior they aren't going to be easy to distinguish. Say anything you like, Thermaltake won't stop and aside consumers (who actually buy things rather than bitch about it), nobody will stand in their way.

It's not clever, it's not morally right but it's not illegal. The thing that disappoints me is it's not the best they could do. But I don't like any of their stuff anyway so idrc, even the stuff they rip off isn't to my tastes.


These aren't exactly dissimilar. Infact looking at it they are identical by your prior standards but nobody said anything, Corsair didn't poop themselves and nobody got sued. Both sold well.

JR

 

[AlienALX]

Nigh on all mid ATX cases of a certain size look the same inside. I don't even remember who first did the black interior nor who used those rubber grommets but I don't recall any one crying saying "Waaah, mummy, they stole my grommet idea".

A good 90% of high end cases now have them so see also my 80s microwave analogy.

Looking at their latest Caselabs clone? the front of the case actually looks more like the Corsair 900D.

 

[barnsley]

These aren't exactly dissimilar. Infact looking at it they are identical by your prior standards but nobody said anything, Corsair didn't poop themselves and nobody got sued. Both sold well.
JR

Nah, my prior standards don't include cases that were years apart and use the external design of a specific series.

Not one quiet case looks exactly like a fractal case. Be it internally or externally.


I don't know why I care as much as I do. The reviews of it say the case is incredibly badly built. People would moan even more if TT were to make an exact clone of a Corsair case.

 

[AlienALX]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the marvellous Inwin S Frame.




And I also present Cooler Master's cheap attempt at ripping it off.



So as I maintain, this kind of crap happens all of the time. A good idea will be completely done to bits by other companies trying to cash in on that idea.

 

[Wraith]

Seriously!? Your comparing Inwins hugely overpriced alloy sheet against a full case which has a passing resemblance to it... The Cooler Master case to me looks like the old Gigabyte Alloy cases.

 

[CreatiXx]

thats a cheap example.... The new coolermaster case made me think about a recently released bitfenix case ^^

 

[barnsley]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the marvellous Inwin S Frame.
So as I maintain, this kind of crap happens all of the time. A good idea will be completely done to bits by other companies trying to cash in on that idea.

Seriously? Thats a bit like saying one car looks like a ferrari because they both have slightly pointy headlights.

For starters, the coolermaster case is their 'master case'. This particular case Is completely different internally (unlike what TT have done), is designed for a different purpose (again..) and the case doesn't even look like that from the factory. This is the case you are talking about. Note how they've got two of the same panels on the roof and front of the case. The whole point behind the master case is making it look different (or in this case, different enough so people don't complain about it not looking like a corsair product).

 

[TPC]

And I also present Cooler Master's cheap attempt at ripping it off.

No.
Just no.

 

[MyPC8MyBrain]

its entrepreneurial capitalism; sadly nothing new,
it comes down to quality; that’s all there's is to it!

from a consumers prospective; it’s a good match that we stand to benefit from,


Chris,

 

[NeverBackDown]

its entrepreneurial capitalism; sadly nothing new,
it comes down to quality; that’s all there's is to it!

from a consumers prospective; it’s a good match that we stand to benefit from,


Chris,

Yes it's part of capitalism, but a direct copy and identical looks with seemingly nothing new is not... that's just a copy of what was already made. It's being marketed as a new case when it is not, which in the States could apply as False Advertising and if anything else CL could come up with it, since they have more info, could apply as Fraud(that's really the extreme extent though). That's the issue. Everyone is just generalizing the "similar features".. everything has similar stuff, but they are at least somewhat different. This is just a copy and paste.

 

[kc5vdj]

Some of these items are too different to call it.

The fan controller hub. In a box of that size with a high port count, one would have to use both sides.

The black acetal terminals don't look the same other than that they are black acetal.

the full height bay-res. There are several companies making them, and they are virtually identical, because how else can it be done?

ON THE OTHER HAND....

The Fractal and Case Labs issue is a real one. Those are direct knock-offs, with so few changes that Thermaltake wouldn't stand a chance in an American court for patent infringement.

That brings up another topic.

I would hope that companies like Case Labs, and Fractal are at the minimum filing what we in the United States call "Design Patents", patents that patent shapes, forms, and visual appearance. If they do, they might have some recourse, but I'm unsure as to how they would sue without treaties in place to do so on such infringement.

The guy from Case Labs is right. This hurts innovation. I have been considering doing some custom cases myself and starting it from scratch as a business. I have ideas that nobody is doing, and ideas that are similar in concept but not in form, just better. If I go into business, and this happened to me just because I was being friendly with someone at a show, how the hell can I compete with someone like Thermaltake if they steal my designs? I'll probably do this venture if I can, but it's a scary concept.

 

[MyPC8MyBrain]

im pretty sure there are some differences; maybe miniscule but still differences,

in today's economics it makes financial sense for a company to tail another leading company;
using the same suppliers to supply the same parts; means deeper manufacturing costs discounts for both distributors;
since the volume increases for the same supplier; materials costs for him as well become less expensive; its a cycle

the trailing company don't have to invest in heavy development costs or custom molds; they can simply buy "off the rack" pre made component the supplier can easily make now with no additional costs,

from a business end; the above make sense when you're paying the bill every month!

this also smells like someone left one company and brought his know how to the other,
the one at fault here is the greedy supplier that provides the same materials to both!

Chris,

 

[Doomslayer]

im pretty sure there are some differences; maybe miniscule but still differences,

in today's economics it makes financial sense for a company to tail a leading manufacturer,

using the same suppliers to supply the same parts; means deeper manufacturing costs discounts for both distributors;
since the volume increases for the same supplier; materials costs for him as well become less expensive; its a cycle

the trailing company don't have to invest in heavy development costs or custom molds; they can simply buy "off the rack" pre made component the supplier can easily make now with no additional costs,

from a business end; the above make sense when you're paying the bill every month!

Chris,

They have still failed cause it will be a higher price so they can't even get the price right.

I can't see any of the "products" they have come out with be cheaper than the ones they have copied.

 

[MyPC8MyBrain]

may not be cheaper for us as consumers;
but a wider slice for the company profits;
or lower initial manufacturing costs,

 

[Doomslayer]

may not be cheaper for us as consumers;
but a wider slice for the company profits;
or lower initial manufacturing costs,

What is the point of buying the products when it's a copy of the original, I would rather just buy the original. I think your kinda missing the whole point of this.