Over three years in the making as the patent application for this was filed in January 2006. As reported by Soldier Systems, Crye Precision was awarded by the US Patent and Trademark Office on their combat shirt and armour design. Checking on the document, the patent covers the CP designs, such as the collar, shoulder pockets, wrist collar, and the elbow padding area which many manufacturers have copied, not only ACM ones. Now what would happen to those who have the CP design on their own products?

Would there be a round of litigation once CP decides it can also earn from the sales of those who are using its designs? Now, let the games begin...

On 29 December, 2009, Crye Precision was granted 7,636,948 patent for their “Combat Shirt and Armor System” and this may prove to be just as important as when Crye unleashed their combat uniform on an unsuspecting market. It’s not often when you see a new concept fundamentally change the way we look at something but that is exactly how it worked out. I don’t think Crye even believed it would take off like it did. Even if you consider that the idea was radical at the time, when you saw it, you “got it”.

Read more at Soldier Systems.