Well, that’s wrong, the racism claim.

I have at least 3 good friends from India I play Chess with.

Of the roughly 40 nice sets I own, 34 are made in India with 6 being made in Slovenia.

Huh?  Everyone that knows me knows that I do not have a racist bone in my body.

There was at least one time in history that the country now known as Germany, had some very bad leadership.  That did not make everyone living in that land bad, racist,stupid or anything.

We are going into another lockdown in England due to Covid. You guys are arguing over nothing. Just be friends and relax. 

Eh, I’m not Canadian.  

+1 . Couldn't have said better.

But then again, I doubt @Eyechess and @sound67 would agree to a ceasefire unless something crazy happens... like Eyechess buying a SC set and Sound67 buying a Noj.

Chessboxing: the new craze where brain meets brawn

+1. We have lost a lot of good posters on here due to bickering. @Eyechess and @sound67 appear to disagree on some issues. Fine state your position and agree to disagree. It's not exactly life and death here.

IP law is anything but simple. OS mentioned that he thought World Chess may have a patent on the set, WC responded that they had a design registration. You mention that sets may be copyrighted. As I noted above one individual has registered a Trademark for the mark "Staunton Chessmen".

These are all different types/systems of IP and it's unlikely that all of them can apply to a chess set. From an ethical point of view if a set is a staunton set I don't feel it should merit any protection. But from a legal point of view I really don't know and I doubt if anyone here knows either. Having said that I would tend not to buy a copy of a set someone has designed and put a lot of effort into, as long as it is still available. Luckily, I think the Weil set is a travesty. So I don't have any decisions to make there.       

Actually, even though we disagree, sound and I usually get along quite well.

zagryan, I resemble that remark.

@lighthouse - What a symbolic photo!

For the first time, I finally understand why @Eyechess and @sound67 have so many chess sets :-)

@OFFICIALSTAUNTON - I take my hat off to you sir for your swift action in addressing the Fide World Chess issue and for having been involved in the chess equipment business for such a long time. You surely must have seen things we buyers would not believe.

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope things will be better soon in England. Good luck.

thank you 

There is another beautiful quote by Benjamin Franklin that all "gentlemen" should remember and quote more often,

Trickery and treachery are the practices of fools that have not wits enough to be honest.

Benjamin Franklin

No offence, I was just thinking (and smiling) about this thread of yours, when the Dubrovnik discussions were going on in another thread. I can see you have changed the topic ; it was ethics of Indian manufacturers, but I guess the current topic is more appropriate.

Let's not foget one thing though, the FIDE motto,  Gens una sumus, Latin for "We are one people".

EXHIBIT ONE 

EXHIBIT TWO   This one is a screenshot from Post # 39 here ; https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/noj-set-arrived-review?page=2

Solely on this point, I think that is actually a typographical issue rather than a marker of uncertainty over the originator. Noj's website is fairly amateurishly put together and there are a lot of rogue question marks, including in the middle of words. I suspect that this was supposed to read read "Andrija Maurovič" but their coding won't support the "č" character.

This is too little and too late. And it is based on wrong assumptions.

1. My original beginning was on some specific times where copies or reproductions of original designed sets that were still being produced and sold by the original designer companies.  I am talking about specific sets like the current Official World Championship set, sets designed and created by Frank Camaratta, specifically, Chavet sets currently being made and sold, etc.

2. I pointed out that I personally will not buy any of these copies, from any company selling them.  And I still will buy other sets from these companies.

3. I never claimed anyone was being dishonest.

4. The Dubrovnik set reproductions are sold by a high number of companies.  I am not saying these companies are wrong at all, because there is no original company making this design anymore. The standard and various Staunton designs also are in this category.

5.  Remember, Frank Camaratta has created some unique design specifications, the Knight Mane for example, that you do not see in any original.

6. The vast majority of chess sets are made in India.  It is wrong to put all the manufacturers in India in one category and behavior type.  

We started talking about business morals and ethics.  A manufacturer can and does what he thinks best.  I have happily purchased sets from sellers from India, Slovenia, England, Italy, the United States, and Mexico.  All of these sellers have sold sets that I choose not to buy because of the above points.  That has not stopped me from buying other sets from any of them.

Are you seriously throwing Oleg Raikis under the bus in your attempt to prove some misguided point?

Ethics and Morals should be how sad that we driven a great species into near extinction ? for ivory . https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/history-ivory-trade/

Yes that rare chess set from Jaques that link , I had posted back then from ebay  ! point is humans do a lot of bad things to each other & damage to the earth in what we call progress What was once in fashion convention, custom, practice, usage fall out of vogue . Ivory now being one item no longer a fad or a demand , hard to even sell now without the right papers .