alt Hacker News> The patent for the Cherry MX design finally expired in 2014.
OK, but did it really? I've seen this claim pop up occasionally, but nobody ever points to the patent in question. A quick Google search for "cherry mx patent 2014" shows the oldest result as being a Reddit comment from 2017 (https://www.reddit.com/r/hardware/comments/6am47a/comment/dh...):
> The patent expired in 2014. Many people have been paying the same price for mechanical keyboards with cheaper Chinese MX switches without knowing.
And an Ars Technica article from 2023 (https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/08/hands-on-with-cherry...):
> For 20 years, Cherry’s patent on mechanical switches made it the only player around. That patent’s expiration around 2014, though, released the floodgates and allowed countless copycats and switches with varying levels of modification to the cross-stem design to pour in.
However, what seems to be the actual Cherry MX switch patent (US4467160A) was filed in 1983 and expired all the way back in 2003. So what exactly expired in 2014?
That line is wild, btw.
We've been paying less and actively avoiding lower quality Cherry branded MX compatible switches.
There is no reason to ever pay Cherry's pricing when Kalih and Gateron completely control that market now.
Also, the patent they're discussing, afaik, isn't MX specific, but more a specific thing in how Cherry's switches work (including the MX). Kalih and Gateron both built their businesses on making patent-avoiding designs that are superior.