I apologize for making a second question about this, but I was unable to edit my previous question to include the following details because the edit functionality on the Q&A is currently broken and has been since it opened.
In Q&A 823, it was ruled that the VEX clutch was not legal because it was attached to the servo. However, the clutch was also available separately in packs of 3 under the part number 276-1098. Previously it was common to harvest the springs from these clutches for use in mechanisms, and previously it was ruled that this is explicitly legal since the clutches are not necessary associated with 3 wire servos.
This excellent forum post outlines some of the reasons that this should be legal: www.vexforum.com/t/answered-removing-springs-from-clutches-r15-r5/24736/5?u=sazrocks
Additionally, there are several other cortex products which are now of questionable legality. Yaw Rate Gyro: www.vexrobotics.com/276-2333.html Analog accelerometer: www.vexrobotics.com/276-2332.html LED Indicator: www.vexrobotics.com/276-2176.html
While some of these products have been superseded by the V5 Inertial sensor, they are still perfectly functional on V5 and are even officially supported by official programming environments such as VEXCode. I do not see a reason these parts should be illegal for use with V5, and keeping them legal would help teams who are on limited budget to continue to use the advanced functionality that they provide. Is it the GDC's intention that these products be illegal?