Yes, and they have an engraved rd number on them to identify them. ...
M — No they don't. The purpose of an engraved Rd number was and is to show that some part or all of the design was or is protected.
... Why would some have the number engraved on them and some not I wonder?
M — Simply cost. Although I think all the Webb Rd numbers were engraved by the same hand, so he or she must have been quite fast at it, it still cost money, reducing profit. Here the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Once Webb's local competitors had seen examples and read the PG write-up, continuing to mark examples of the registration would have had little or no real effect, whether or not anyone plagiarised the design.
Also there was a stock control nightmare. As major exporters to the US, Webb would have been well aware that a Rd number was an open invitation to US makers to copy without fear of legal action. So Webb would have had to maintain stock of both marked and unmarked items. So, the sooner they stopped marking pieces, the simpler the stock control, the lower the single stocking level, and the lower the costs.
Bernard C.
Topic: Thomas Webb — heat sensitive? — akin to Alexandrite? (Read 6524 times)
