Twenty years ago, before Makita
established its successful line of
power tools in the U.S., you were
about as likely to see an aqua-blue
tool on a job site as you were an elephant.
Now "Makita-blue" tools —
some Makita, some other brands —
are as common as nails. The same is
true of yellow tools these days, ever
since Black & Decker reestablished
the DeWalt line as a standard-bearer
of quality.
Imitation may be the sincerest form
of flattery, but tool manufacturers
sometimes sue companies whose
tools copy the look of their own too
closely. In the late 1980s, for
instance, Makita sued Jepson for making
tools with casings of a blue similar
to Makita's. Makita lost when