Glock is suing Maxwell Corp, the importers of the Zoraki M917 blank firing pistol, for trade dress infringement.

Zoraki M917, photo from Replicaairguns.com

Vico Confino has put up a website giving his side of the story and pleading with Glock to settle out of court. Vico says …

MAXSELL CORP. has been sued by Glock, Inc in a lawsuit claiming that the M917 Zoraki is in violation of their trade dress protection. Maxsell countered that it disagrees and the M917 is a blank starter gun described in US Code as a non-gun. It has been approved by BATFE for sale in the USA. It is NOT a firearm. A trial will be held in Georgia, in front of a Georgia judge, prosecuted by Georgia attorneys and heard by a Georgia jury. I must hire a Georgia lawyer. I have spoken with a Glock attorney in an attempt to settle and he replied, “You have broken the law, and I will see that you are punished”. He went on to threaten me, “I do not like you and I am going to destroy you”. I tried to negotiate with another Glock attorney and he said, “I am going to sue you personally”. He did on July 28, 2012. (more legal fees) I was sent an email by a third Glock attorney who said, that my comments were “false, retaliatory and actionable”. (more legal fees) The Glock attorneys have already billed $28,000 in legal fees and have not made one bonafide attempt to make a demand or settle. I have spent 25 years of my life in building a Better Business Bureau Rated A+ company. At 79, they cannot hurt me anymore than they already have. My physical and mental health is being destroyed. I cannot eat, I cannot sleep or eat a decent meal. I am on medication for depression and cannot enjoy my family life.

I cannot see how anyone could confuse the Zoraki M917 with a Glock. The manufacturer seems to have gone to great lengths to ensure that it would not be confused with a Glock. To me it looks like a pistol with the same ergonomics as a Glock, nothing more. Nobody is going to walk into a gun shop looking to buy a 9mm Glock and walk out with a blank firing replica thinking they have bought a Glock.

In 2010 Glock sued Austrian Sporting Arms and ISSC Handels GmbH for trade dress infringement. It was settled out of court.