I believe that Audio Note bought a license from Snell; they did not pirate the design.
The surrounds on these types of speakers can be quite easily replaced; there are kits for that as well as videos on how to do it. A local DC Audio Note dealer sends drivers away to a company that does the work for not that much money, so that is another alternative to buying a new driver. The problem with buying a new driver is that you are never quite sure that the new model is compatible with the tuning of the older speaker, whereas replacing the surround usually does not change the sound of the driver that much. I've heard refurbished Audio Note AN-Es and they sound great.
The surrounds on these types of speakers can be quite easily replaced; there are kits for that as well as videos on how to do it. A local DC Audio Note dealer sends drivers away to a company that does the work for not that much money, so that is another alternative to buying a new driver. The problem with buying a new driver is that you are never quite sure that the new model is compatible with the tuning of the older speaker, whereas replacing the surround usually does not change the sound of the driver that much. I've heard refurbished Audio Note AN-Es and they sound great.