Rick Jamison, Gun Writer, Gone but not forgotton
browningh...@yahoo.com
disappeared from the gun rags it had to do with a big lawsuit that he
won against Winchester for stealing his developmental short magnum
cartridges. Over the years the gun industry got so used to stealing
peoples wildcat cartridges that they began to think it was their
right. It is heavily rumored that was what led to Winchester closing
up after the lawsuit was over.
Rick is now personal non grata with the gun magazines. It's a shame
as he stood head and shoulders above most of the other lackeys who
these days seem to attempt to write for the gun rags.
Rick's article on the Mauser 98 rifle in Shooting Times Magazine some
years back was a real classic. Count yourself lucky if you have copy
as such writing is seldom seen these days and will probably never be
seen again. Rick's experiments in ballistics and cartridges was
fascinating and informative to say the least.
Yes, as one wise man once said after the assassination of one of the
most popular of U.S. Presidents. "They always kill the good ones" and
with good gun writers , they always get rid of them.
Let us hope that Mark Twain's famous statement, "The reports of my
untimely demise were highly exaggerated" comes to pass.
-------------------------------------------------------
Learn about rec.guns at http://www.recguns.net
Win a Fulton Armory "Predator" AR-15 accuracy rig while
supporting our RKBA. Details at http://www.myguns.net
-------------------------------------------------------
Advocate54
# as he stood head and shoulders above most of the other lackeys who
# these days seem to attempt to write for the gun rags.
Mr. Jamison's favorite rifle was the Ruger 77 mkII. I wouldn't think someone
with your opinion of cast metal firearms would respect his opinions.
Jim
pure bull manure. I challenge you to back it up!! He sued, ok, how
about some links to the judgement. If he did in fact sue, apparently
enough, as you say, to cause Winchester to close it's doors it must
have been mega bucks. Surely you can provide a link, a legal judgement
for those kinds of bucks has to be somewhere on the interent.
Robert Scott
http://www.chuckhawks.com/column18_death_short_magnums.htm
Good shooting,
desmobob
spike
# If some of you are wondering why quite some time ago Rick Jameson
# disappeared from the gun rags it had to do with a big lawsuit that he
# won against Winchester for stealing his developmental short magnum
# cartridges. �Over the years the gun industry got so used to stealing
# peoples wildcat cartridges that they began to think it was their
# right. �It is heavily rumored that was what led to Winchester closing
# up after the lawsuit was over.
#
I can't say I ever heard anything about such a lawsuit. Which
Winchester do you claim he sued - the firearm mfg, or the ammo mfg?
jadel
# disappeared from the gun rags it had to do with a big lawsuit that he
# won against Winchester for stealing his developmental short magnum
# cartridges. Over the years the gun industry got so used to stealing
# peoples wildcat cartridges that they began to think it was their
# right. It is heavily rumored that was what led to Winchester closing
# up after the lawsuit was over.
#
# Rick is now personal non grata with the gun magazines.
That's "persona non grata" to you.
J. Del Col
Advocate54
"Jim" <zivend...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:fiub23$on2$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
#I think all you're doing is striring up a bunch of internet rumors and
# pure bull manure. I challenge you to back it up!! He sued, ok, how
# about some links to the judgement. If he did in fact sue, apparently
# enough, as you say, to cause Winchester to close it's doors it must
# have been mega bucks. Surely you can provide a link, a legal judgement
# for those kinds of bucks has to be somewhere on the interent.
#
Where in the OP's post did it say a single word that the mentioned law suit
caused difficulties to Winchester/Olin/Browning...let alone making
Winchester close its doors? Browning Owned Winchester years before the WSM's
were introduced; it certainly didn't make Browning go under.
browningh...@yahoo.com
> ...
It was in many of the gun rags including Gun Tests Magazine
Adam Smith
# "Jim" <zivend...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
# news:fiub23$on2$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
# #I think all you're doing is striring up a bunch of internet rumors and
# # pure bull manure. I challenge you to back it up!! He sued, ok, how
# # about some links to the judgement. If he did in fact sue, apparently
# # enough, as you say, to cause Winchester to close it's doors it must
# # have been mega bucks. Surely you can provide a link, a legal judgement
# # for those kinds of bucks has to be somewhere on the interent.
# #
# Where in the OP's post did it say a single word that the mentioned law suit
# Winchester close its doors?
#
I'll quote the OP: "It is heavily rumored that was what led to
Winchester closing up after the lawsuit was over."
--
Will the last American please lower the flag, fold it carefully, and put
it away?
Advocate54
<browningh...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:fiuqpm$suk$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
# On Dec 2, 8:13 am, Jim <zivendine...@yahoo.com> wrote:
# > ...
#
# It was in many of the gun rags including Gun Tests Magazine
#
I suppose it is possible his lawsuit put Winchester under. At least someone
made some money off the design...the manufacturers surely didn't. If
Winchester did put all of their eggs in the short magnum basket then it may
have been time for Winchester to close their doors.
Talk about answering a question that was never asked...
hot-ham-a...@hotmail.com
I liked him. He wrote some about predator hunting back in the 80's.
Maybe he'll start an on-line magazine...
JLG
> ...
The case was Jamison v. Olin Corp, Winchester Division, and Browning.
It is not reported in the Federal Reporter, but was a case in the
federal district court in Oregon. The Westlaw citation is 2005 WL
2388219. Jamison claimed patent infringement, breach of contract,
etc. The last substantive action I can find is the one cited, a
ruling on summary judgment, which was a mixed win for defendants
Browning and Olin. If you have access to Westlaw or know someone who
does, and you are interested, there are links at the bottom of the
ruling to pdf's of most of the pleadings. Looks to me like Olin and
Browning won on most of the substantive points, but I just skimmed the
decision.
Here is the way the court laid out the facts:
"Jamison is a firearms and ammunition journalist. Olin manufactures
firearms ammunition. The Browning defendants manufacture, sell,
distribute, and market firearms.
Plaintiff has an interest in wildcatting, which is the process through
which gun enthusiasts modify existing ammunition cartridges for their
own use. Plaintiff experimented with several wildcats with the goal of
designing a short, fat cartridge with a magnum-type performance for
use in a short-action rifle. His experimentation was successful, and
he applied for patent protection in early 1997. From 1997 through
2004, he applied for and received a total of seven patents covering a
range of cartridge and mating rifle chamber designs embodying his
short, magnum concept, four of which form the basis of plaintiff's
patent infringement claims in this lawsuit.
Plaintiff first contacted Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. ("Ruger"), a
firearms manufacturer, about commercial development of the short,
magnum cartridge and rifle concept in late 1995 or early 1996. Ruger
expressed interest, and indicated that it would make the rifles if
plaintiff could interest Olin in manufacturing the ammunition. The
three parties met together at the industry "Shot Show" in January
1997. At the meeting, plaintiff agreed to send Olin ballistics data on
his short, fat cartridge for Olin's evaluation of the project.
Plaintiff sent Olin the 62-page results of the testing he conducted
between January 28 and February 17, 1997 on his short, fat cartridge.
*2 On March 6, 1997, Olin and Ruger representatives met for the second
time. At the meeting, the parties named the cartridge and rifle
concept they would develop the "JRW," using the first initials of the
names Jamison, Ruger and Winchester.
In a March 14, 1997 letter to Alan Corzine, Olin's Director of Product
Creation, plaintiff wrote the following, in pertinent part:
[R]egarding my cartridge design that we have been discussing, I do
have a pending patent application and I think it is reasonable to
expect some sort of a reasonable royalty payment whenever the
ammunition is sold.
* * *
I am in the process of negotiating an agreement with Mr. Ruger
regarding the rifles.
Declaration of Jennifer A. Wagner in Support of Plaintiff's Opposition
to Defendant Olin's Motion for Summary Judgment on Counts 3 Through 8
("Wagner Dec."), Ex. 50.
Three Olin representatives subsequently met with plaintiff at his shop
in April, 1997, and executed a document presented to them by plaintiff
entitled "Acknowledgment of Confidentiality."
In an April 22, 1997 follow-up letter to Doug Cahill, President of
Winchester, plaintiff wrote, in pertinent part:
I am pleased about Winchester's introduction of the Jamison wildcat
cartridges, soon to be called "JRW." ... I think you will also be
pleased by the acceptance of these high performance short action
cartridges.
Last March 14 [1997] I wrote to Allen Corzine regarding my pending
patent application and wanting to discuss a reasonable royalty
payment. I then mentioned this to Mike Jordan when he, Allen, and Glen
Weeks were here a couple of weeks ago for a confidential review of my
latest cartridge developments. Mike said that he would "get something
penciled out" and then get back to me.
Wagner Dec., Ex. 30.
Ruger entered into a licensing agreement with plaintiff in early 1998.
That licensing agreement contemplated the potential payment of
royalties to plaintiff on the sale of rifles manufactured to
accommodate a short, fat cartridge. The licensing agreement
specifically contemplated that the cartridges might be manufactured by
Olin but that they might be manufactured by someone else.
In contrast, plaintiff and Olin never agreed upon terms for
compensation to plaintiff.
On September 11, 1998, in a letter to plaintiff, Olin stated, "We
understand you have applied for a patent on this "cartridge concept"
and you mentioned a desire to collect a royalty from those
participating. Winchester's firm position will be to offer no royalty
payments and further request an exclusive license to manufacture and
sell any of the JRW cartridges, independent of the caliber under your
patent if it issues." Exhibits to Declaration of Jennifer A. Wagner in
Support of Plaintiff's Opposition to the Browning Defendants' Motion
for Partial Summary Judgment on Quasi-Contract Claim, Ex. 10.
On October 5, 1998, Olin requested a royalty-free license on "JRW
Cartridges of any desired caliber" and stated in a letter that Olin
was "not prepared to go forward with commercialization of the JRW
Cartridge concept" and would "terminate [the] development of the JRW
Cartridges" unless plaintiff signed such an agreement by November 6,
1998. Wagner Dec., Ex. 54.
*3 In a November 2, 1998 letter, plaintiff wrote:
I received a letter from you with a contract proposal and I am
wondering if I am missing a page. The letter proposed what Winchester
would like to receive from Jamison and said nothing about what Jamison
would receive from Winchester.
I am certainly willing to talk about what it is you want, but I am not
willing to give away the rights to what I think is a revolutionary
cartridge concept-for nothing. Your proposal not only would give
Winchester "the farm," so to speak, but it would preclude any other
agreements I might have.
I have a lot of time and expense wrapped up in the experimentation
around and development of the concept. It makes no sense for everyone
involved to profit from it except the one who originated the idea and
tested it.
Wagner Dec., Ex. 55.
Nevertheless, plaintiff and Olin eventually brought a new "JRW
cartridge," known as the 300 JRW, to a point of substantial completion
and scheduled a hunt in Texas on February 22, 1999 to introduce the
cartridge to hunting sports writers. On the eve of the scheduled
public announcement, in February 1999, plaintiff was expecting to
receive a draft contract from Olin. Instead, Olin, through its
attorney Corzine, faxed a letter to plaintiff on February 19, 1999,
dated February 18, 1999, stating, in pertinent part:
* * *
The partnership has survived and we are now ready to introduce the
first cartridge/gun combination, entitled the 300 JRW. Furthermore,
significant groundwork has been established to enable future line
extensions based on the short action concept.
* * *
We understand you have applied for a patent on the "short fat
cartridge concept."
* * *
Winchester is not prepared to go forward with commercialization of the
JRW concept defined as a standard short action non belted magnum
cartridge, unless you are willing to grant to Winchester a royalty
free, non-exclusive license, with the right to sublicense other
interested firearm and cartridge manufacturers, to make, have made,
use, offer for sale, sell and import JRW Cartridges of any desired
caliber, most likely within the .22 to .45 caliber range. This will
enable our introduction of these cartridges into SAAMI.
Without your agreement to grant these rights, we will be forced to
terminate the immediate cartridge introduction and all subsequent JRW
cartridge developments.
Wagner Dec., Ex. 26 at 3.
Plaintiff's attorney, Jacob Vilhauer, responded, in pertinent part, on
February 19, 1999:
Mr. Jamison does not accept your proposal, and wishes future
negotiations regarding a possible license, if any, to be conducted
only through the undersigned. Any previous offers or discussion
regarding the terms of a license are hereby withdrawn pending further
negotiations culminating in a written agreement executed by Mr.
Jamison.
In view of Winchester's expressed intent to cancel the scheduled
introduction, Mr. Jamison feels that it would be inappropriate for him
to attend the hunt scheduled for Monday, February 22, in Texas.
*4 Wagner Dec., Ex. 69.
Olin wished to go forward, and the attendees arrived at the hunt. When
plaintiff did not arrive, Corzine called Vilhauer. Although the
content of the conversation is disputed, according to Vilhauer,
Corzine promised to fax confirmation that Olin would promise not to
sell JRW-type cartridges until a written license agreement had been
executed by plaintiff, and that in return plaintiff would not object
to the introduction of the JRW cartridges and the hunt. Corzine
testifies that Vilhauer was indeed talking about JRW-type cartridges,
and not just the 300 JRW to be introduced at the hunt, but that the
parties never reached an oral agreement of the sort described by
Vilhauer.
Shortly after their conversation, Vilhauer faxed Corzine a letter
containing his summary of the telephone conference. Ted Zimmerman, an
Olin lawyer, faxed a letter responding to Vilhauer's fax, the meaning
of which is in dispute.
Because the hunt had already begun by the time Vilhauer received this
fax, Vilhauer understood that the letter was the promised written
confirmation that Olin would not sell "JRW-type" cartridges in the
absence of a written license agreement with plaintiff. Plaintiff did
not object to the hunt. The writers were asked not to write about the
cartridge.
Negotiations occurred after February 22, 1999, and were not limited to
a particular short, magnum cartridge, but were unsuccessful. The JRW
project was terminated as of December 23, 1999.
In September of 2000, Olin publicly announced its plans to market a
short, fat cartridge with the Browning defendants, called the 300 WSM.
Plaintiff protested Olin's plans in November, 2000. Olin further
publicly introduced the 300 WSM in January or February 2001 at the
annual industry Shot Show and began regular sales of its WSM cartridge
by at least March of 2001. Plaintiff asserts that the WSM and the
related WSSM cartridges are JRW-type cartridges."
JLG
Jim Casey
# The case was Jamison v. Olin Corp, Winchester Division, and Browning.
Fascinating. Thanks for digging up this information.
- Jim