[alseides]

I saw what looked like a genuine Atlas bipod for sale on eBay (Buy It Now option) for only $150. At first I thought, "What a deal!" and then I became immediately wary. There were several pictures and I examined them closely.

The engraving of the Atlas company lettering looked real and the arrow was on there. The pictures were not large enough to take a good look at the sprocket for leg positions. The pictures could not be enlarged so I could not get a good look at the knurling or finish. The bipod came in a box that looked very official, had a very detailed description, and professional-looking lettering. But I thought that Atlas packaged their bipods in plastic bags. There was also no logo on the box.

The defining part that made me think it was counterfeit was the QD mount. It was supposedly an ADM 170. The parts looked right. But there were absolutely no markings on the mount. Every ADM 170 I have seen has the ADM company's markings all over it.

I could be wrong but I think this one really was counterfeit. The eBay listing advertised it as an Atlas BT10-LW17 V8 . But the price was too good to be true. If this really is a fake, the makers are getting better at making it difficult to spot. Most of the Green Blob knock-offs I've seen run for $55 to $65. That would turn that $150 into quite a rip off.

 

[Wasted ammo]

Be carful, I ran across some fake leupold mini red dots and fake ACOGs.

 

[USMC Gunny]

Part of the company I work for bought one of their parts off of ebay a couple of years ago knowing that it was fake just to check it out.

The knockoff part even had one of our inspectors stamps on the outside of the box. They are getting real good at duplicating stuff.

 

[Wasted ammo]

The fake optics had realistic boxes as well, only way I knew for sure they where fake was the prices. There is a guy on armslist that sells these optics and tells you they are fake, isn't that illegal?

 

[leonmckee]

The Atlas products come in a plastic bag with a cardboard label that indicates with an x which model you have in your hands. There's no really big deals on new Atlas products (Accu-Shot) as they keep a thumb on their retailers (very common). What I've done is gone through one of the authorized retailers and then used online coupons and free shipping options. I've been saving close to $40 per Atlas, with no sales tax and free shipping.

Leon McKee

 

[Pennamite]

The fake optics had realistic boxes as well, only way I knew for sure they where fake was the prices. There is a guy on armslist that sells these optics and tells you they are fake, isn't that illegal?

I am not a lawyer, but I suspect the eBay seller is in the clear regarding trademark because he's upfront about what the product is. Insofar as trademark infringement, the whole idea behind trademarks is to avoid one company intentionally confusing customers about the origin of the product. Again, if he's upfront about what he's selling I think he's okay ... however, the company which is coopting the reputation of another company would be legally exposed to lawsuit and compensation.

I don't know which patents if any are in play here. I think the eBay guy could receive a cease and desist letter from a patent holder, and a patent would probably be enforceable against him in court even though he's not the manufacturer of the counterfeit.

My 2¢.

 

[innocent bystander]

I am not a lawyer, but I suspect the eBay seller is in the clear regarding trademark because he's upfront about what the product is. Insofar as trademark infringement, the whole idea behind trademarks is to avoid one company intentionally confusing customers about the origin of the product. Again, if he's upfront about what he's selling I think he's okay ... however, the company which is coopting the reputation of another company would be legally exposed to lawsuit and compensation.

I don't know which patents if any are in play here. I think the eBay guy could receive a cease and desist letter from a patent holder, and a patent would probably be enforceable against him in court even though he's not the manufacturer of the counterfeit.

My 2¢.

I would suspect unauthorized use of a registered trademark as the primary offense here.

 

[2012 C14]

Don't want a fake, buy directly from Atlas.

Murph's Law, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[bmcg1313]

Yeah i would stick to Atlas directly or an authorized dealer

 

[Holescreek]

Both Ebay and Amazon are selling Atlas knock-offs. The Amazon seller is Greenblob:

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Blob-O...d=1492317244&sr=8-3&keywords=green+blob+bipod

Sometimes they arrive in boxes printed exactly like original Atlas and the bipod also has Atlas markings on it. I've seen them both ways.

Functionally they are the same but performance sucks with regard to sloppy lockup of the leg pivots which makes them useful for cleaning your rifle but not for actually using it to shoot.