Yes, it's a product of the Scamway cult. Scamway contacted James Dyson in 1985, wanting to license his patents on the dual cyclone vacuum. They gave him the 'upfront' money and signed a contract. Scamway went to Bissell, and asked them if they could make the machine for the American market. Bissell said they could. Scamway gave the patents back, telling James they were not going to make it, and asked for their money back. Six months later, they bring out the CMS-1000. Scamway believed James would never sue them, as he was not in the manufacturing business at the time. He didn't have much money. But he DID sue them, and in five years, won the case. That freed up IONA for the launch of the Fantom Thunder, to be sold to the American market.
For a huge American company to take advantage of a small time inventor is inexcusable. At least James got the last laugh. The CMS-100 and the ClearTrak ceased production, in part due to the fact neither model had a shroud (the part in a Dyson with all the holes in it). All the lint and fluff passed onto the pre-motor filter. Together with a single fan motor (the same as used in a Dirt Devil) which was underpowered, the Scamway machine didn't clean really well (comparatively).
Had Scamway played it HONESTLY, they would have had the American market by the tail. Look at how many Dysons have been sold in the US - many millions more than Scamway ever sold of their machine. Scamway could have made use of all Dyson inventions (like the shroud, the automatic change-over switch for the hose, etc.). But instead they allowed GREED to take them over, and their fall from grace only served a very dishonest company right.
