Diminished Capacity

Are AK-47s Pirated Goods?

The New York Times has a front page story (sorry, registration required to read it, and it probably won't be accessible in a few days anyway) about how the Russians are upset about the "pirating" of the AK-47 worldwide. They assert that the numerous clones of the famous rifle made in factories around the world are illegal because Russian intellectual property is being used without any licenses.

On the face of it, this claim is completely ridiculous. The rifle was designed over 50 years ago, so any patents that might be claimed have long since expired. There might be a claim on the name "AK-47" itself, as a trademark, but the usual rules on trademark say "police it or lose it", and the mark has been in use as a generic term for the design of this particular rifle for so long without anyone being sued that I doubt any court would now enforce a claim for such a mark.