Frank, nice talking to you at the LHS today... Thanks for your time.
I don't think I gave the EME60 vs DA60 issue the due diligence it deserves, so I contacted DA today and spoke with someone regarding the EME60. After our chat, they told me the owner of DA would be calling me back with more info.
If I hear from DA that the EME60 is a copy of DA's design, we will immediately withdraw our support of EME.
I spoke with management at Desert Aircraft today, and they did confirm that the EME is not a one-for-one (or reverse engineered) copy of the DA60. The color similarities are most likely done by EME for marketing purposes.
In the end, many of these engines were designed and developed based on DA's engines... including DLE and a host of other brands. However, and most importantly, many contain engineering differences that make them unique.
The best answer we can give at this point, is let your conscience guide your purchases, and know what you get with your purchase (warranty, customer support, etc). We feel that anyone who was invited to be a sponsor on this site excels in the customer service and ethics department.
Please continue to let us know if you suspect our site sponsors are selling copied products based on stolen designs/intellectual property, and we'll continue supporting you by looking into it. While we can stop counterfeiting and copying, we can try to make people aware so they know what they are purchasing.