[RobA_Oz]

or rather the trademark application didn't expire yet.

Probably more likely that the relevant IP regulator doesn’t have an interest in or a robust process for dealing with business succession.

Edit: Just noted Mistral’s reply, which says much the same thing.

[reh321]

Note that the ASAHI PENTAX trademark is owned by Pentax Corporation, implying that PC may still be in existence, otherwise I would have thought the trademark would be passed to the successor organisation (who I guess would be Hoya).

I'm not sure how active they are in maintaining that database - whether they make changes when they are asked {by Hoya lawyers, for example}. or whether they actually follow legal filings.

[Mistral75]

I'm not sure how active they are in maintaining that database - whether they make changes when they are asked {by Hoya lawyers, for example}. or whether they actually follow legal filings.

Trademark authorities can't possibly follow any and all changes in legal denomination, mergers and so on. When they receive a request from the trademark owner (or its representative) or from the person/entity claiming to be the legal successor of the owner or from a competitor, they ask for the legal documentation supporting the request (provided that the appropriate full documentation was not included in the request). Upon receipt of the additional documents requested, they review them and make the appropriate changes if they consider them duly justified.

[Mikesul]

But we can always hope!

[Tony Belding]

I don't think we need to concern ourselves too much with yellow journalism.

However… The reason they picked Pentax as their target, and the reason it may strike a nerve with some people, is not hard to understand. I've been wondering, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, where Pentax (and by extension Ricoh) are going. How do they expect to adapt in an evolving camera market? What's their plan? What's their vision? If they have one, they haven't elucidated it. (But to be fair, Japanese camera makers—aside from Sigma, perhaps—are notoriously taciturn. It's not only a Pentax trait.)

[Kunzite]

Sorry if I repeat something I've already said somewhere, maybe even on this thread. I'll try to elaborate a bit.

The consumer camera was just part of the Pentax Imaging Systems, and just part of the reason why Ricoh acquired Pentax. But unlike with Hoya, the other important parts were also Imaging - and the consumer cameras were specifically wanted.
Factory Automation is a big thing at Ricoh - and Pentax had an important role in booting up that segment. Surveillance goes without saying. I suspect automotive 3D imaging also might include parts of Pentax.
That, IMO, puts the Ricoh Imaging in a "safer" position - if it can contribute to the other segments, I mean.

I'm not sure how integrated those segments are with consumer imaging; but there should be some collaboration and technology sharing. We know that some Ricoh Imaging stuff was developed within, or with the help of Ricoh.
The D FA* 50mm f/1.4 was developed using Ricoh simulation technologies. And there's the 3D printing, remember the much discussed K-1 mock-up? Or the Clarity algorithms.

[reh321]

I don't think we need to concern ourselves too much with yellow journalism.

However… The reason they picked Pentax as their target, and the reason it may strike a nerve with some people, is not hard to understand. I've been wondering, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, where Pentax (and by extension Ricoh) are going. How do they expect to adapt in an evolving camera market? What's their plan? What's their vision? If they have one, they haven't elucidated it. (But to be fair, Japanese camera makers—aside from Sigma, perhaps—are notoriously taciturn. It's not only a Pentax trait.)

Pentax has said they want to become a "premium" producer - I took that to mean that they won't continue to compete with Canon and Nikon at the Rebel / D3000 level. They've said they plan to concentrate on K-mount. I'm not sure how more specific you want them to be {obvious they'll be someone taciturn because they don't want competitors to know their exact plans}

[Tan68]

That confirms it: Ricoh need to buy Hoya, put Pentax back together and dispose of the rest.

Endoscope joke ?

---------- Post added 07-14-18 at 07:11 AM ----------

... One day I pointed out to a team that their sales price was below their cost of goods. They responded with "we're going to make it up with volume ...

Best and most innocently enjoyable laugh I have had in a long time

---------- Post added 07-14-18 at 07:14 AM ----------

... As I am reported to have said shortly after I learned to talk "I want to be my own self".

A girl I knew and who was in a condition to speak in veritas said "I am my own cab"

I hesitate to say it, but...... out of the mouth of babes.

[ffking]

Endoscope joke ?

The joke is entirely yours

---------- Post added 14-07-18 at 11:31 AM ----------

One day I pointed out to a team that their sales price was below their cost of goods. They responded with "we're going to make it up with volume" ..... so I had to show them that the more items they sold, the more money they lost.

I once had a boss for whom increasing turnover was everything - I had to point out in a similar vein that simply increasing turnover is not always a good thing.

[Clinton]

Hmm... Pentax still in business? Still selling cameras? Even releasing new lenses?

Looks like Amateur Photographers was wrong. No doom and gloom today; nothing to see here. Please move along.

[SharkyCA]

Amateur Photographer a well respected weekly photo news and review publication in the UK has just Predicted end Pentax and K1ii likely to be it's last new Camera. Article written by Andy Westlake who is Technical Editor and a former DPReview reviewer, wrote that the slow down in the release of new lenses, camera bodies and Ricoh's reluctance to enter the mirrorless market will lead to the demise of Pentax due to lack of research and development. He says quote "Pentax isn't even a company in its own right any more" pointing to Pentax just being a brand name used by Ricoh. At the end of the article he says "it will be a real shame to see Pentax disappear, but the Pentax K1 mark ii would be a fitting last hurrah"

Although we've all read the writing is on the wall for Pentax in the past it has been easy to dismiss. But to read an article by a respected publication, by a knowledgeable and respected photojournalist is a bit more concerning than random stories from the mass online media. Anyone else read the article or have any thoughts?

Global Digital Still Camera Market Survey 2018: Canon, Sony, Nikon and Pentax – The Honest Analytics

---------- Post added 07-17-18 at 05:08 AM ----------

Hmm... Pentax still in business? Still selling cameras? Even releasing new lenses?

Looks like Amateur Photographers was wrong. No doom and gloom today; nothing to see here. Please move along.

Global Digital Still Camera Market Survey 2018: Canon, Sony, Nikon and Pentax – The Honest Analytics

[ffking]

Global Digital Still Camera Market Survey 2018: Canon, Sony, Nikon and Pentax – The Honest Analytics

Do you have a summary of what they say? - I don't really feel like giving my name and address out blind. Thanks

[Mikesul]

Let's keep in mind that it was not a statement by Amateur Photographer, the magazine. It was just an opinion by one writer. There has been way too much fussing about this. Magazine articles are food for thought not statements of absolute truth. No serious writer of that kind of piece expects people to treat it as a report of final fact. We should let these kins of threads die a quiet death. Continuing it just makes the forum look foolish and hypersensitive.

[SharkyCA]

I just made the post as an announcement, I didn't download the post myself.

[reh321]

I just made the post as an announcement, I didn't download the post myself.

You posted them without knowing what they say??