US District Court Rules Against Kirby
Dinghy manufacturer LaserPerformance has released a statement announcing that the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut has dismissed complaints and allegations by Bruce Kirby...
View ArticleBruce Kirby appointed to Order of Canada
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, has made 125 new appointments to the Order of Canada. The new member list includes 4 Companions (C.C.), 35 Officers (O.C.)...
View ArticleDisharmony in the Laser World
The dysfunction within the World of Laser Sailing has a long history. There are design rights, boat builders, and one design class administration that's not always in harmony. Like now. The...
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Massive judgement against boat builder
A hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut found boat builder Quarter Moon (QMI) and LaserPerformance (Europe) Limited (LPE) liable for a sum of $6,857,736.30,...
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LaserPerformance strikes out in court
It was February 2020 when a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut concluded, it was the result of a 7-year long Federal Court litigation between Laser designer...
View ArticleEight Bells: Bruce Kirby
Sailing legend Bruce Kirby passed away July 18, 2021. He was 92 years of age. Bruce was a newspaper man in Ottawa and Montreal before he became a yacht designer. A competitive sailor in International...
View ArticleBruce Kirby: On the Ottawa River
Bruce Kirby has earned a significant place in sailing history, as a yacht designer, three-time Olympian and honored sportsman who has reshaped the sport of sailing. His story is now captured in the...
View ArticleBruce Kirby: New job, Changing country
Bruce Kirby has earned a significant place in sailing history, as a yacht designer, three-time Olympian and honored sportsman who has reshaped the sport of sailing. His story is now captured in the...
View ArticleBruce Kirby: Flexing hull, Leaking toilet
Bruce Kirby has earned a significant place in sailing history, as a yacht designer, three-time Olympian and honored sportsman who has reshaped the sport of sailing. His story is now captured in the...
View ArticleBruce Kirby: Business is business
Bruce Kirby has earned a significant place in sailing history, as a yacht designer, three-time Olympian and honored sportsman who has reshaped the sport of sailing. His story is now captured in the...
View ArticleCOMPLAINT: Bruce Kirby and LaserPerformance
Here is an update on the ongoing dispute between Bruce Kirby, Inc. and LaserPerformance, as provided by the International Laser Class Association (ILCA). On March 4, 2013, Bruce Kirby, Inc., filed a...
View ArticleSTATEMENT: ISAF seeks resolution
Attorneys acting for Bruce Kirby have issued proceedings in the US District Court and named ISAF as a co-defendant. ISAF has not been served with the proceedings at this time. ISAF’s primary concern is...
View ArticleDRAMA: Goodbye Laser, Hello Torch
As the designer of the Laser, Bruce Kirby was forced to pursue legal action to hold the primary builder of his boat – LaserPerformance – accountable to the agreements that they signed. The result of...
View ArticleLEGAL: What led Bruce Kirby to rename his boat
It is important to understand that Bruce Kirby loves the Laser. He designed it, and he considers it his child. But while Kirby owns the Laser design, he does not own the Laser name and logo. The later...
View ArticleDISPUTE: Laser class not ready to be called the Torch
These are interesting times for the International Laser Class Association (ILCA), a self-administered, self-funded international organization which provides co-ordination, organization and...
View ArticleMESSY: ISAF Statement On International Laser Class
(April 23, 2013) – On 22 March the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) published a statement concerning the Laser Class dispute and proceedings filed by attorneys acting for Bruce Kirby. Since...
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PHOTO: Uh oh, could there already be a boat called a ‘Torch’?
Bruce Kirby re-branded his Laser boat as the Torch, but could there already be a boat with that name? The photo above shows on the left what we have learned to be a boat of the same name, and on the...
View ArticleCOMMENTARY: Intellectual Property Rights and Copyright issues
By John Harwood-Bee As I write this it is the middle of World Intellectual Property Day, which falls on the 26th April each year. To those of us who are involved in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)...
View ArticleLaser class faces legal drama
(April 30, 2013) – Bruce Kirby Inc. today filed a First Amended Complaint in federal court against ISAF, Internationals Laser class, and LaserPerformance, adding claims related to a class rule change...
View ArticleCOMMENTARY: The theater that has become the Laser Class
The drama that is stirring within the Laser class, and now the U.S. Federal Courts, will be a prime topic next week at the ISAF Mid-Year Meeting starting May 9 in Copenhagen. Here’s a quick recap:...
View ArticleANNIVERSARY: When the Laser SB3 was rebranded as the SB20 (could the Laser be...
One year has passed since the Laser SB3 was rebranded as the SB20 Class, and was launched by the newly appointed builders Sportsboat World. The boat known originally as the Laser SB3 was designed by...
View ArticleKirby Files to Cancel Laser Trademark and Sunburst Logo for Boats
(May 10, 2013) – Bruce Kirby Inc. today filed the below petition to cancel US trademark registrations directed to both the word LASER and the Sunburst logo for boats. According to US Trademark Office...
View ArticleKirby seeks to shutter LaserPerformance
(May 17, 2013) – Bruce Kirby, Inc today asked the Connecticut Federal Court to issue a prejudgment remedy (“PJR”) against Rastegar and the Laser Performance (LP) Defendants. If granted in its totality,...
View ArticleLaserPerformance responds to Bruce Kirby Complaint
Laser builder LaserPerformance has submitted a response on June 12, 2013 to the complaint filed by Laser designer Bruce Kirby on March 4, 2013 in the U.S. Federal Court system, in which Kirby contends...
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Eight Bells – Henry “Hank” Strauss
He was born on New York’s upper west side nearly 99 years ago; he was not a big man but he filled a huge space with his enormous intellect and heart to match. Racing and cruising sailor, adventurer,...
View ArticleCuthbertson, Kirby inducted in Canadian Sailing Hall of Fame
Sail Canada has announced the induction of George Cuthbertson and Bruce Kirby into the Canadian Sailing Hall of Fame. The Board of Directors of Sail Canada has determined to establish a Canadian...
View ArticleCanadian Sailing Hall of Fame Inductions
On Saturday, May 10th, the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston and Sail Canada honoured two illustrious designers who put Canada at the forefront of yacht and dinghy design in the period when...
View ArticleSonar class gets new builder
The International Sonar Class has announced that Shumway Marine, with the cooperation of designer Bruce Kirby, has made arrangements to have the Sonar built by Rondar Race Boats in the U.K. Shumway...
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Laser Dispute: Where Are We Now?
There are those one design classes that own the rights to their design, and have control over their builders. And then there are those one design classes that have no rights, and exist at the mercy of...
View ArticleCourt Rules on Kirby Dispute
The United States District Court, District of Connecticut, has issued a decision regarding a contract dispute between Bruce Kirby, the designer of the renowned Kirby Sailboat, and certain companies...
View ArticleCrossing Tacks with the Great Dane
The passing of Paul Elvstrom has opened the memories of those blessed to cross tacks with the Great Dane. Bruce Kirby, Canadian-born sailboat designer, racer and journalist, shares some of his...
View ArticleConversations with Classic Boats
Conversations with Classic Boats is a podcast about classic boat designs and the stories behind them. Hosted by Tom Darling, this episode traces the origins of the planing dinghy from its 1920 origins...
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