This may be the reason there are not a lot of them available yet, they may be holding off full production until the lawsuit is decided.
Cathie Rowand | The Journal Gazette
Firearms maker James Buchanan holds his Mare’s Leg gun, for which he has a federal trademark, at his shop in Huntertown.
Local gun maker fires lawsuit at Brazilian giant
Rebecca S. Green | The Journal Gazette
FORT WAYNE – Local gun maker James “Diamond Jim” Buchanan is taking on an international firearms conglomerate in a federal lawsuit, accusing the large pistol manufacturer of trademark infringement.
Brazil-based Taurus International Manufacturing, which has U.S. offices headquartered in Miami, has long been affiliated with other well-known gun makers – having once been a sister company to Smith & Wesson and buying Beretta's Brazilian factory in the 1980s, according to the company’s website.
A message left for the company seeking comment was not returned Wednesday.
By contrast, Buchanan owns and operates J.B. Custom in Huntertown, a small company making and selling gear and custom firearms for “Cowboy-style” or single-action shooting – the kind depicted in old television and movie Westerns. They are guns he says appeal to “your grandpa,” who remembers watching such programs.
“I design custom pieces and this one had been something I had been working on for a while,” he said.
A few years ago, Buchanan designed a gun based on the one carried by Steve McQueen’s character Josh Randall on the late-1950s CBS series “Wanted: Dead or Alive.”
“I redesigned it a little bit for modern usage,” Buchanan said. “It’s just very unique, interesting.”
But the gun, known as a Mare’s Leg, is a lever-action gun that looks like a rifle but has a short barrel, for which he has permission from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Buchanan obtained a federal trademark and in his lawsuit claims “common-law” rights over the use of the Mare’s Leg mark, as well as lever-action firearms of a “particular shape, design, and overall appearance.”
“It seems like every time I do, someone bigger than me wants to take it away,” he said. “I got a little smarter with this one.”
According to court documents, in 2006 Buchanan originally contracted with Amadeo Rossi S.A., a Brazil-based firearms maker, to manufacture his gun for exclusive sale in his shop. He sold the gun for about $1,700.
In 2008, Taurus bought Rossi, a rifle and revolver company, and assumed Rossi’s obligation to exclusively deal with Buchanan for the sale of the Mare’s Leg, according to court documents.
Buchanan said he never heard from Taurus about its plans or what the company intended to do about the contract.
But in July, Rossi placed an ad in an edition of American Rifleman magazine, selling the Rossi Ranch Hand lever-action gun, at one-third the price Buchanan was selling the Mare’s Leg, according to court documents.
According to the Rossi Rifle website, which is linked to Taurus’ website, the similar-looking gun is offered for sale at $536.
In his lawsuit, Buchanan alleges breach of contract, trademark infringement, passing off his work as theirs, false advertising and unfair competition.
He is asking a federal judge to prohibit Taurus and its subsidiary Rossi from further infringing on his rights, as well as the award of monetary damages, profits and fees.
“It ruined me,” Buchanan said of Rossi’s price. “That’s why we’re in federal court. I didn’t want this to have to happen, but the people are destroying me.”
Buchanan said his attempts to contact Taurus and Rossi have been unsuccessful.
rgreen@jg.net
