FirstSpear TV

The GAMA / M-Lok Battle Heats Up As Magpul Files Suit Against Gibbz Arms In Federal Court

In late February Gibbz Arms released their patent pending GAMA system along with letters to brands that license other, similar weapon accessory attachment systems to adopt theirs, alleging that it pre-dated the other systems.

This was quickly followed by statements of reply from both Magpul and Gibbz Arms.

But now, the situation has taken a different direction. According to documents obtained by SSD, Magpul has filed suit in Federal District Court in Austin, Texas against Gibbz Arms.

Specifically, Magpul claims that Gibbz Arms has violated three of their patents (8,925,236 B1; 9,239,209 B2 and 9,239,210) and they are suing for treble damages, attorney fees, delivery of all infringing items produced by Gibbz Arms to Magpul for destruction, and a permanent injunction against producing, selling or offering products that infringe upon Magpul’s patents.


(Click cover to view pdf.)

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34 Responses to “The GAMA / M-Lok Battle Heats Up As Magpul Files Suit Against Gibbz Arms In Federal Court”

  1. Invictus says:

    This should be a fun ride.

  2. Phil says:

    BOOM! goes the dynamite

  3. Tazman66gt says:

    And that’s what happens when you poke the bear.

    • Brutal Buddha says:

      This ^^ Based on what’s been disclosed on ssd, I think it’s Magpul with the upper hand here.

  4. Pat says:

    I just made a fresh bowl of popcorn, time to sit back and watch the show!

    • Airborne_fister says:

      Don’t forget the beer.

    • Andy says:

      going to be a long show s like Apple vs Samsung, that is a lot of popcorn and beer

      • SSD says:

        Both of those companies have very deep pockets. I’m not so sure this will last for a long simply because it seems like Magpul as a deeper bench than Gibbz.

  5. CWG says:

    Good. Intellectual property protection is the backbone of American industrial ingenuity. If magpul wasn’t as successful as they are they may not be able to afford taking the offending firm to court.

    Good luck Magpul.

  6. Chuck Mac says:

    Yes…because we need Magpul around to make more pants, gloves and phone cases.

    • Mike says:

      So tell us why you don’t think a successful company should branch out into other markets? Why shouldn’t they try to become a better, more successful company?

      • Bill says:

        Magpul has reached “life style” level, just like Harley Davidson, Winchester, Snap-On, Emerson knives, you name it.

        There’s a depression coming for the tactical industry. Why did Harley survive the depression while Indian closed? Harley had transitioned to life style branding and made or marketed everything they could along with their motorcycles.

        Magpul is smart to branch out, it insures their doors will stay open when the Lancers, Troys, Knights etc., etc. start to feel the affects of an over saturated market. How many 10 packs of pmags do you need, or buis, or slings? I have never worn out a sling, or a sight, but I do wear out pants and shirts.

        • Chuck Mac says:

          Yes… I treated myself to a Trump steak after graduating from Trump University (only after paying my tuition with Trump credits while drunk on Trump vodka). “Life Style”…that is interesting.

          • Dev says:

            You forgot washing it down with some Trump Ice and then applying some Trump cologne to get rid of flatulence smell after that steak.

            Heh.

    • Magpul says:

      People have been telling us that we need to “stay in our lane” since the company was founded in 1999. What they forget is that Magpul is first and foremost a design and engineering company. We have a specific design philosophy that we want to apply not just to firearms parts but everything we come in contact with. Designing everything lets you design everything better.

  7. bulldog76 says:

    Gibbz arms : ha im gonna poke this bear *poke POKE POKE*

    Magpul bear: dont do it …stop …. this will not end well for you ….

    Gibbz arms: nope not gonna stop im gonna keep poking *POKE POKE POKE*

    Magpul bear:I WARNED YOU !! *BITES*

  8. Am I the only one not excited by these two companies throwing lawsuits around?

    • bulldog76 says:

      oh things are gonna get messy and all hell is gonna break lose but its like a train wreck you just cant look away

      • I’m sure they will. I definitely don’t admonish anyone for spectating .

        It’s a shame that a fortune will be thrown down the drain due to this squabble. I’m sure the lawyers are already salivating.

        C’est la vie!

  9. jbgleason says:

    “Treble damages… Attorney’s fees!”

    Lawyers everywhere just got a chubby.

    I just love when the attorneys advise filing suit. It’s like a divorce lawyer. “Screw her, don’t let her have the five hundred dollar painting. Fight her in court, that will be six thousand in billable hours please…”

  10. Sean says:

    Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

    • SecondGradeMath says:

      Turns out a real granted patent holds more weigh than a theoretical might get issued if it didn’t infringe on the granted patent patent.

      • reverend says:

        I have never been a fan of “Theoretical Patents”. I was a Juror on a lawsuit like this once… The whole “WELL! WE THOUGHT OF SOMETHING SIMILAR! YOU OWE US MONEY BECAUSE WE THOUGHT OF SOMETHING… BUT NEVER PUT IT INTO PLAY!” pissed me off.

        P.S. The Manufacturing Patent holder won. Hopefully they use that case in court.

  11. SPQR476 says:

    Legal battles are certainly never enjoyable. Sometimes, it’s the best option, though. In this instance, preserving the perpetual free and unencumbered status of M-LOK for all to use is the goal, and that’s worth the effort.

    • AlexC says:

      This.

      If Gibbz wins the suit, it’s not just Magpul that loses, it’s everyone that was planning to or is going to purchase MLOK equipment, because the price will go up due to the Licensing fee that Gibbz would then be able to charge manufacturers.

      One of the reasons why I’ve become a user of MLOK instead of Keymod was because of price and the fact that Magpul was supporting fellow equipment manufacturers by not charging a licensing fee.

      • MidGasFan says:

        To the best of my knowledge, there is, was and will not be a Keymod licensing fee. I don’t know where this got started. Probably by rabid Magpul fans.

        Keymod is open source, just like M-LOK, no fees. Eric Kincel told me as much when I ran into him at SHOT 2013.

        Please let this myth die. If something has changed and there is a Keymod licensing fee, please let me know as knowledge can only help.

        As for the lawsuits, bummer that it had to come to this, really. Playing devil’s advocate, just say Gibbz wins(I don’t think they have a leg to stand on), will all the said rabid Magpul fans take back all the hatred and apologize for the plethora of vile statements they have been making about Gibbz Arms? Especially considering none of us know all the facts?

        This should very interesting and I for one am glad I’m not involved in anything like this! Seems like a poor use of money that could be spent on other products, especially for Gibbz. Choose your battles wisely!

  12. Tazman66gt says:

    I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if the competition started the licensing fee bull to steer people away from key-mod. Then they can say, see ours is better.

    • Jon C. says:

      Can you define “the competition” by name? Since you brought up the allegation…