I am certain that Colt's still holds the trademark on its name.
I think Colt forgives transgressors when they describe replicas as "1851 Colt" and such.
However, I'm also sure that Colt would bristle and call in its lawyers if guns were stamped with the name.
In fact, there is historical precedence for this. Back in the heyday of cap and ball revolvers, many inferior copies of popular Colts were made in Belgium, and often stamped with "Colt" or a variation thereof.
The Colt company rounded up its lawyers to go after the patent infringements that were violated when the Colt copy was made, as well as the trademark infringement by them using the Colt name.
However, the battle went on for some tiime because international law concerning patent and trademark violations in those days was relatively toothless.
Not like today, boy, when no country dares to copy other patented merchandise ...
The reissued Colt cap and ball revolvers of the 1970s through 1990s were ostensibly "made in Italy" but bore the Colt name in many places. There's an interesting story behind this, according to "Colt Blackpowder Reproductions and Replicas," by Dennis Adler.
Briefly, Colt wanted to reintroduce its classic revolvers but the tooling for such models had been lost or discarded decades before.
Colt contacted an Italian gunmaker who was already producing copies of classic Colts, and wanted to contract the building of very high-quality copies bearing the Colt name.
But then a legal snag appeared.
Italian law mandates that every firearm made in Italy be proof-tested -- and after passing the proof loads be stamped with the Italian proofhouse mark!
Well, Colt knew that no American shooter would stand for a Colt with an Italian proofmark stamped on it, so a compromise was reached.
The Italian gunmaker produced the rough, unfinished parts and these were shipped to the states for final finishing, stamping and assembly.
Colt did some of the work, or subcontracted it with Colt's overview.
Today, some shooters claim that this brands them, "Made In Italy" and decry them as phony Colts.
I prefer to think of them as having a few spaghetti stains on them.
After all, Winchester and Browning had guns made by Miroku in Japan but few would claim they're not real Winchesters or Brownings.
I own a Colt 2nd generation 1851 Navy I purchased in 1983. It's extremely well made, marked
Colts Patent on the frame, and along the barrel is
ADDS SAMUEL COLT NEW YORK.
Its steel and walnut may be European, but it exudes all American with every shot.
