Without reading everything in the thread it appears at a glance that there are a few issues at play with regard to the intellectual property of ColorDMD.

ColorDMD has patents in the US which they can use to protect their inventions in the US. I believe those patents also can be used in the legal system to prevent people from other countries from disseminating/importing infringing property in the US. The US patents are not enforceable in other countries so the only issue with copying the invention for use in Europe would be a moral or ethical issue.
Regarding software/programming you will get into copyright infringement which I have no knowledge of the laws between countries, but I would suspect there would be some available avenue for legal arguments regarding software intellectual property that could be stronger than patents which gives you only protection in the US.

It is not considered vague in patent law. It is considered reasonably broad claim language that was considered novel and non-obvious at the time the patent application was filed. If you want to use ColorDMD's patented broad concepts for sales or use in the United States then you should consider working out an agreement for licensing. That is how patent law works.

If I invent a new pop bumper and receive a patent. Stern could go and copy it and add on features to it but they would not legally be in the right to sell it without my consent as the owner of the broader patent.

Licensing and sharing agreements are huge factors in the promotion of innovation.
Stealing does not help promote innovation and instead suppresses the desire to create new inventions.