Pittards never patented the designs in the leather so people can copy the pattern, but thats all they do in inferior leather. You should think what kind of company wants to fake a product and what that says about them.Having spent half a day with them in Yeovil I learnt a lot about what they do and have forgotten most of it but the best leather comes from Ethiopian Sheep as they kill them once fully grown and so you get a strong yet soft hide. We don't eat mutton here and so lamb leather is too soft for the job.