Medeco Locks: Patents Expired on the High Security Keys?

Home owners and casual locksmiths like myself should be aware of this: the patents expired on the square Medeco keys that come with the security card. I learned this this past week when i ordered a set of locks and the supplier gave me the round keys. when i asked why, he said, “well, any locksmith shop will be able to copy those medeco keys now as long as they service medeco, no card needed”.

i tried to question this person as to all the details and i read a little about this on the ‘net and maybe this week i will call medeco and get some specific details about what all this means but it seems to mean that anyone who thinks their keys are protected by that credit card they told us we need to get copies of the key made might have a concern if they loan a lot of keys out to contractors and house staff. going forward, it means that the older key systems medeco still sells with the card will not have that protection.

i did question the supplier and we can still get further “restricted” blanks meaning that we can get a blank sold only to a specific supplier or ge ographic region and we can go back to that supplier (or region). pain in the neck as to do that you have to go to the wholesaler and you have to be able to use an account (in my case i let customers use my account so long as they pay cash). In this case, i consulted with my customer and we chose to go with the further restricted blanks (restricted to that wholesaler).

if anyone can add to this or cares to read more about it on the web and add to or clarify exactly what this means, that would be great. i am not fully up on this as i do not always install carded medecos and when i do, it is really only for my customers who i rebuild doors for.

andriywww1990

in General Discussion 3 years and 1 month ago

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stevecym | 3 years and 1 month ago

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Thank you arkady for the acknowledgement anf dork for the info. I am going to try to learn more.

I notice the entire industry has been hush about this – something good happens we are bombarded with marketing and hype from everyone. This has happen and i find out after placing a lock order

dorkofwindsor | 3 years and 1 month ago

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thanks steve, thats helpful to know. when i looked some of this up i saw that the M3 expired in 2021, which includes maxim deadbolts. i’m seeing tables out there for Assa Abloy patent expirations, and i’m assuming the most recent news relates to those m3 related locks only..?

thankfully my keys are restricted to my locksmith, which i was bemoaning at one point but now pleased that is the case. i’m wondering out loud if someone had non-restricted keys could re-pin the lock and get restricted ones. [04609611-AAA0-4222-B72B-1FF4F57FF8A1](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:lVMT:04609611aaa04222b72b1ff4f57ff8a1.jpeg.jpg)

Arkady | 3 years and 1 month ago

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Thanks. That’s really interesting.