Ilco now makes Best PKS blanks??

[WOT]

Only a select few, but I thought Best Access and Kaba-Ilco were in mutual agreement to not have Kaba-Ilco produce PKS???

[Evan]

Only a select few, but I thought Best Access and Kaba-Ilco were in mutual agreement to not have Kaba-Ilco produce PKS???

Where on earth did you get that idea ?

The Premium keyways made by Best are open to anyone who wants to produce blanks for them as Best Access Systems lost the legal challenge on the design patents because of the manner in which Best attempted to patent the keyways... They carry the same security level as the much older single letter keyways made by Best, only with far fewer users there will be much less demand for 3rd party keyblank production for other than the handful of default keyways that were used based on the geographic location of the project site... The only difference was the much thicker keyblank blade to accommodate the wild and crazy designs of the keyways... That was not upheld as a valid change or upgrade for the design/utility patents Best filed in order to maintain control over the keyways...

If you want a Best SFIC system with patent protection you will be referred to either the CORMAX or PEAKS product lines...

~~ Evan

[WOT]

I understand that Best lost the lawsuit, but as a part of partnership with the licensing of KABA PEAKS for BEST PEAKS applications, Ilco agreed to not make the PKS blanks.

[kchar2002]

I've been on a hunt for some Best PKS blanks for a long time, but they are very hard to find. I occasionally see some pop up on ebay, but never the right keyway. According to the Best website, most worldwide Best PKS system patents will expire in 2011. Is that correct? Is it safe to assume that the blanks will become widely available thereafter?

Or, if not, does anyone happen to know of a good source of these blanks? I'm domestic (USA) based and am happy to pay reasonable (and even unreasonable) amounts for these blanks.

[WOT]

I've been on a hunt for some Best PKS blanks for a long time, but they are very hard to find. I occasionally see some pop up on ebay, but never the right keyway. According to the Best website, most worldwide Best PKS system patents will expire in 2011. Is that correct? Is it safe to assume that the blanks will become widely available thereafter?

No, Best sued Ilco for patent infringement in 1996 when they handed out samples in a trade show. It was decided that Best's patents based on ornamental features of key blanks had no functional purpose and court decided the patents were invalid. Ilco just haven't commercialized them until recently, but it was free for anyone to make for over a decade. Now Ilco is making them, legally.

Or, if not, does anyone happen to know of a good source of these blanks? I'm domestic (USA) based and am happy to pay reasonable (and even unreasonable) amounts for these blanks.

Get them from your supply house. They're substantially more expensive than non-PKS blanks and Ilco only makes eight out of dozens in use. These aren't exactly high volume blanks, so even at wholesale, they cost 15-20 times that of massive volume blanks like KW1.