Cracking down on copycats
Bill in Congress takes aim at 'hull splashing' in boat industry
By RICK BARRETT
rbarrett@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 5, 2005
It's called "hull splashing" when a boat builder makes an unauthorized copy of a hull design and calls it his own.
With a little luck, Wisconsin marine manufacturers say, proposed changes to a federal law would end the practice that's bothered them for decades.
Senate Bill 1785 is meant to strengthen the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act passed by Congress seven years ago but lacking in some important areas, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association, a Chicago-based trade group.
