No dog here either....but...
This whole business of 'who stole what design from who...' gets a little old.
As does painting "Chinese Crap!" with a broad brush.
After all, a knife is only a blade attached to a handle (ducking the soon-to-come-flames). There are only so many blade shapes and steels, handle shapes and materials, locking mechanisms, etc. Every so often a maker produces a truly innovative design, but most knives have a lot in common, regardless of maker.
That said, the overall F&F, quality and materials can vary widely, and if SRM or any maker can rival the big-boys in F&F, quality and materials, I say "OK!!".
I'm not for out-and-out ripoff copies at any price, but there always seems to be enough difference between makers and designs to obviate a cut and dried determination of who stole what.
The original question was "your opinion of the SRM knives", and politics aside, they seem to get a pretty good rating...especially at the price.
Just my opinion...