By Luke C., The Firearm Blog
The KP-15 monolithic polymer lower receiver has been a great success. The KP-15 provides regular citizens with an affordable and fairly durable lower receiver that is also lightweight to boot and reduces the total number of individual parts needed to complete an AR-15 rifle.
In a bit of recent news, GWACS Armory has made the decision to sue Russel Phagan, Brownells, and Shawn Nealon (inventor of the original CAV-15) for alleged NDA and trade secret violations in regards to the KP-15. In total, 5 different parties are being sued by GWACS. In response, Russell has made the decision to address these allegations both publically and in official court documents with supporting documents that have been filed and are now public.
Russel has given TFB permission to publish these documents in the hopes that they will shed light on the situation so that the KP-15 project, which he believes directly supports the rights of all free people to be armed, can continue. The full statement is posted below, if you are interested in reading Russell’s full declaration made to the court, you can read that here.
KE Arms is also offering a 25% off discount code on all KP-15 and KP-9 receivers ordered through KEARms.com (use code: ‘DEFEND2A25’) which will no doubt go to support their continued efforts.
GWACS Armory Sues KE Arms Over KP-15 Lower
I’ve been receiving numerous messages from friends and followers about the ongoing litigation with GWACS Armory centered around the KP-15. As you may know, GWACS filed suit against myself and my business Sinistral Shooting Technologies in 2020 alleging NDA and Trade Secret violations. I think the best way to address this is by sharing my declaration made to the court with supporting documents that was filed recently. You can find that document here: https://www.dropbox.com/…/%23124%202022-07-18…
GWACS has made a number of claims in this case that I believe to be false and outright offensive. One of the most offensive of these is their belief that they own every idea in my head related to polymer receiver designs through present day. I never signed a non-compete. I concluded my sale to them in good faith, delivering all the assets they purchased. For years after my sale to them was completed I continued to try to help them improve their product and market it more successfully. I did this because I believed in the product and did so without any direct compensation.
I have dedicated my entire adult life to improving firearms designs and their use because I truly believe in the Second Amendment and the rights of all free people to be armed. My passion for competitive shooting and sharing that with my audience comes from a basis of encouraging everyone in this community to improve themselves and be better. I know I will never get rich in this industry, my satisfaction comes from advancing and improving the technology and the skills of the people in it.
I am very fortunate that KE Arms has allowed me to make so many of my ideas a reality for the firearms community. If you want to help KE Arms, the best way to do so is to purchase KE Arms products. KE Arms is offering a discount code DEFEND2A25 to save 25% on all KP-15 and KP-9 receivers ordered through KEArms.com.
In addition to Russell’s statements made to the court, Karl Kasarda of InRangeTV has also come out with his own statement surrounding the situation due to his involvement in the WWSD 2020 project. Karl provides an excellent (but heated) breakdown of the entire situation in that video. In reference to Russell’s inference that GWACS Armory “owns every idea in his head…” GWACS is actually partially suing Russell and KE Arms claiming that the A1 Length of Pull is a proprietary feature, among other similar statements.
We’d definitely like to hear your thoughts on this situation. Does GWACS have a legitimate case against Russell Phagan and KE Arms? Brownells? Is this a case of a company defending its legally owned intellectual property or simply a case of predatory litigation? Your thoughts and comments are welcome below.
Read the original article in its entirety on The Firearm Blog.
