Chinese Swiss Army Knives?

[Raguleader]

So, I bought a Swiss Army Knife off of eBay only to find that it was Made In China (by a company called Royal Crest).

I was expecting, yaknow, a real Swiss Army knife, but later inspection of the item description did have “Royal Crest” listed in the listing title, and nothing to say it was actually from one of the main Swiss Army Knife companies. That, combined with the speediness of delivery, despite a hurricane rolling through the area recently, has led me to go ahead and just give him a positive rating (After all, I only paid $8 after shipping)

My question is, are swiss army knife style pocket knives from companies other than Victorinox and Wenger allowed to call themselves “Swiss Army Knives”? Or do they need to be from the brands actually used by the Swiss Army?

[Tapioca_Dextrin]

Not that it answers your question, but here’s the straightdope on Swiss Army Knives.

[astro]

@Tapioca Dextrin

Not that it answers your question, but here’s the straightdope on Swiss Army Knives.

AS an FYI Victorinox now owns Wenger

Manufacturers
The two Swiss Army knife manufacturers, Victorinox and Wenger, together supply about 50,000 knives to the Swiss army each year. The rest of production is devoted to exports, mostly to the United States. Victorinox and Wenger SwAKs can be immediately distinguished by their logos; the Victorinox cross is surrounded by a shield with bilateral symmetry, while the Wenger cross is surrounded by a slightly rounded square with quadrilateral symmetry.

On April 26, 2005, Victorinox acquired Wenger, announcing at the time its intention to keep the two brands distinct while realizing economies of scale, presumably by having each brand focus on specific segments of the Swiss Army knife market.

There are also many other manufacturers of similar-looking multi-tool folding knives, at a wide range of price/quality points.

[mks57]

@Raguleader

My question is, are swiss army knife style pocket knives from companies other than Victorinox and Wenger allowed to call themselves “Swiss Army Knives”? Or do they need to be from the brands actually used by the Swiss Army?

If you ask Victorinox or Wenger, no. See here for the court case.