Interesting read here:
Steyr files lawsuit against SIG for patent infringement
I purchased a Steyr L9A1 at the end of February of this year and once I finally stripped down the frame, I through to myself "uh oh...there must be a story here!" The Steyr design, to the best of my knowledge, predates the SIG 250 chassis design by at least 5 years. Of course, it would be several more years before SIG would see this through as a striker fired design. It seems to me that the only significant departure here is the serialization of the chassis itself, which the Steyr does not have.
Most of us know that the designer of the Steyr M/S/C/L pistols was Wilhelm Bubits, and that he was previously a designer at Glock. He also designed the Caracal. He was active on SteyrClub.com and still has a special section dedicated to direct engagement with him, but it's been radio silence since 2011 or 2012. I am left with the impression that Bubits works under contract as a firearms engineer and is not an employee of any company per se.
When I first saw the Steyr chassis laying before me, it left me with more questions than answers. Was Bubits involved in the SIG P320 project, hence his cessation of web activity some 5 years ago? Did SIG, in fact, copy this design from Steyr?
I've already read some comments from other posters online that Steyr is just looking to cash in, sour grapes, etc. Obviously, "cashing in" is one of the main reasons to get a patent. Another is to ensure that your competition can't just take your IP and run with it. For those who maybe don't know, Steyr is nowhere close to the manufacturing giant that SIG Sauer is. People seem to have a lot of emotional response to this news, but it's basic business in the manufacturing world. Supposedly Steyr has already sued Beretta over the same issue; the Pico uses the same type of chassis arrangement, and it looks like APX does as well.
This is gonna get interesting....