News Razer unveils own-brand keyboard switches

Isn't the Cherry MX switch protected by patents? If that's the case, have they licensed them?
I ask this because ALPS and Topre use different technologies, but these Razer switches look really similar to Cherry technology.

EDIT: Wait... Apparently they look like Kailh Switches according to GeekHack (http://imgur.com/a/7ujle), a Cherry clone switch.

 

Kaihua was my first guess as the supplier of these as well, link to discussion from the mech thread.

An interesting development, I'm looking forward to seeing whether Cherry finally crack down on Chinese copies of their technology now that a company with the presence of Razer is bringing them to the West, or whether their patents are weak/non-existent.

Kailh switches are not overly popular when compared to MX, although I've never experienced them personally.

 

Exactly, It'll be interesting if we are going to see smartphone-style bans on Razer keyboards.

 

I don't know much about Kaihua, but I suspec they provide a vast amount of switchgear to the computer case and OEM industry, so they are likely to be well established. That said, the specifications on their MX clones are as close to identical to the real thing as it's possible to get, and they've been around for a few years with one or two boards making their way to the West, so I'd be surprised if Cherry hadn't already made some noises.

 

Very interesting news - we need some competition to force prices on midrange mechs down from the ~£80 mark.

If I recall correctly the only tangible different between Kaihua and Cherry MX is that the former offers a key lifespan of a "mere" 30M keystrokes, vs Cherry's 60M. Though the Razer site states the opposite on it's promotional material, hmm...

 

Hopefully (but unlikely) they can make more cost effective keyboards without compromising quality.

Mechanical keyboards are properly expensive, a nice to have, but cost prohibitive.

 

I've read worrying things about the knock off cherry switches - like the stems snapping when the keycaps are removed etc...

I shall not be partaking personally...

 

Nice to see Razer doing this, but I'll never buy a KB without an LCD screen, simply too useful.

 

Linus did a quick cover of the keyboard an he says some of the patents expired.