DCC- Tsunami / MTH Lawsuit .Update letter from LItchfield Station

[AntonioFP45]

Below is the e-mail letter that I received from Bruce Petrarca at Litchfield Station. It is long but worth reading if you're into or about to get into DCC. Bruce is making the effort to keep modelers informed.


From Bruce Petrarca; Litchfield Station:

What follows is from impressions, not specific statements and if you choose to read to the end of this eMail, you'll understand why information is so scarce.

The Tsunami will be a worthy successor Soundtraxx's flagship DSD150. While the final features are still a bit cloudy for reasons which should become clear as you read this eMail, the Tsunami offers, amongst other features: better sound, better motor control, and more features than were possible with the hardware available when the DSD 150 was designed. The Tsunami has been in planning for several years. Part of that time was waiting for promised microprocessors to become available. Finally, last September enough technical work was done that Nancy and Steve were willing to announce the product to those of us who attended the DEALER SEMINAR. We dealers were "BLOWN AWAY" at the performance, and orders started flowing in with a prospect of December 1st release of the "1 AMP" version with the 3 and 5 amp versions promised to follow.

An ATLAS Light Board version was suggested by the dealers and taken under consideration by the technical folks. I can tell from my orders that it would be a marketing success, if it can be put together technically. (OVER half of the orders I've received for diesel versions so far would go with an Atlas lightboard if it were available).
As anybody who has done any work in technical production will tell you, the last few weeks before release are killers. Long hours working on little "Gotchas". Getting all the diagnostics and documentation correct. Turning on production and finding things that need to be tweaked - they worked fine on a handfull of protoype boards, but in quantity they don't meet the criteria.

Well, the folks in Durango were deep into this work when MIKE'S TRAIN HOUSE (http://mth-railking.com/) threw a "monkey wrench" into the works! MTH was granted patents on their digital sound system in 2002 and 2003. MTH sent registered letters detailing their patents and claims to EVERY DCC MANUFACTURER I've talked to in the fall of 2003. As I understand these letters, they state that there are "certain intellectual rights" which are covered by these patents and that MTH is NOT INTERESTED in licensing the technology. Also, MTH has sued QSI over the patents and issued a "cease and desist order" to QSI (QSI sound is used in Broadway LImited locomotives)

The U.S Patent office, it seems, does not research much in the way of prior art when they issue patents. You can read the patents at http://www.protosound2.com/. My reading of them (and many with whom I've talked) feel that the claims are too broad to be new art and include prior art as shipped (reduced to practice) by Lenz and Digitrax and others prior to the filing of the MTH patent applications. However, possession is 9/10ths of the law and MTH has the patents!

Industry response to "legal roughings" was rapid!

Broadway Limited (QSI equipped), disabled BEMF motor control in their locos. Soundtraxx decided that none of their EXISTING products were potentially infringing, but saw that there was an "area of dispute" in the BEMF motor control in the TSUNAMI and the BI-DIRECTIONAL communication for the Surroundtraxx. So, the release date for the 1 AMP Tsunami was chaned from 12/01/03 to TBA. Our friends in Durango got to spend their time and money working with lawyers trying to decipher what the patents mean, what might be upheld and what impact that would have on Tsunami and Surroundtraxx. I'm sure more Midnight Oil went into contingency plans like shipping Tsunami with BEMF disabled, etc.

REMEMBER: This hit just at the time that folks would normally be working from dawn to exhaustion getting the new Tsunami geared up. I remember leaving my plant at 3a.m and being back to work at 7 during times like these. One manufacturing engineer who worked for me at Ampex during a new product release worked parts of ALL 18 SHFTS every week for 2 weeks! It's a little like being halfway through a marathon and getting an entire swimming pool dumped on you!

Soundtraxx is "mum" on future plans - ready why later. There are rumors of technical problems. I believe, but I don't know, that they have worked out a business plan which will keep the DCC world happy and will be releasing the Tsunami SOON, as designed last summer. What is going on now in Durango, IMHO, is restarting that final tweaking that was happening last fall before the shoe hit the floor. Technical problems? I don't think so - it worked TOO WELL when I saw it in September. Lots of technical and production details being attended to - absolutely!

Restarting an introduction is much harder than just slugging through the process once - I've done it. Remember, Soundtraxx is a SMALL company and when the time and energy of top management is taken up with legal issues and contingency plans and the production folks are making the current product, that doesn't leave many hours to be working on introducing a product to production.

My prediction: Like that old cowboy song: "When it's Springtime in the Rockies..."we'll be seeing a Tsunami we can love. But I voted for Ross Perot, too!

Regardless of what happens with Tsunami, there are bigger issues here. IMHO, if these patents are upheld - or allowed to go unchallenged - there will be an ENORMOUS IMPACT on the model railroading industry - more so than the UNION PACIFIC TRADEMARK FLAP. TELL YOUR FRIENDS! I see the following being delayed, or lost:

(1) New BEMF decoders - NCE has already held off based on the patent filings.
(2) NMRA Bi-directional communications standards.
(3) Surroundtraxx and any possible competitors.
If interpreted broadly (IMHO unlikely), these patents could impact:

1) handheld and wireless throttles, whether DCC or not
2) DCC itself
3) Sound in locomotives

My opinion, as an engineer who has worked with intellectual property for decades, is that everybody has a right to what they invent and to patent protection for that time and effort. HOWEVER, I SEE THESE PATENTS AS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT ON THE EFFORTS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF MANY OTHER MODEL RAILROAD MANUFACTURERS WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE MTH!

What can you do:

1) Do NOT boycott dealers who sell MTH - they are business folks who didn't create this situation. Suggest that these dealers make their displeasure and the unhappiness of their customers known to MTH.

2) Do suggest that your retailer Pledge NOT to place FUTURE orders for MTH or Rail King items until this is settled.

3) Do get the word out to everybody in model railroading - this could impact us all, not just the DCC world.

4) Even if you model in a smaller scale where MTH or Rail King are not currently making items, let them know your displeasure ([e-mail]) They may very well be looking at enlarging their market and need to know that they are soiling their reputation amongst their potential customers.

Why no "offical" word from Soundtraxx when QSI is being so "open and caring"? I don't know for sure, but if I were part of the decision making team in Durango, I'd vote for mum myself. QSI has been sued and what happens there becomes public record or already is public record. Why telegraph to a possible adversary in a lawsuit what your plans, actions and motives are?

Bruce Petrarca
www.LitchfieldStation.com
Arizona, USA
Authorized dealer for Digitrax, Lenz, Soundtraxx, and TCS
YOUR DCC installed here!
Newsletter: [e-mail]

[Anonymous]

I just hate MTH. They don't make anything realistic and they sue people. They should have an MTH club boxcar lettered for Sue Line!!!

[Anonymous]

There must be more we as consumers can do to put MTH on notice. This really makes me angry. How about it, any ideas?

[AntonioFP45]

If everyone reading these threads would do what Bruce suggests:

E-mail Mike's and "cordially" tell them how much they are "soiling" their reputation, as well as that you will spread the word to fellow hobbyists not to buy from MTH.[V][:(!]

Tell you local model railroad shop dealer to e-mail his/her displeasure as well, and suggest that they consider not buying from MTH until this situation is resolved quickly. [tdn]

There are modelers from the U.S, Canada, Europe, and Austrailia reading these threads! Don't be so skeptical guys, we can definetly make ourselves heard with only a little effort![#dots][2c]