Regardless, depending on who they buy it from, they may get nothing at all:

A. Big Dipper is a generic name. See Camden Park.

B. A seller cannot sell more than what they own. Who owns the Geauga Lake Big Dipper at this point is a darn good question.

See also, as to the rest of your question, Zippin Pippin and Bay Beach.

http://www.coaster101.com/2014/09/01/zippin-pippin-then-now/

How much of that is true? Because if it is that answers my question completely. Personally I'm not sure how I feel about it but it's cool and I can understand why. Part of me feels that the Zippin Pippin in Green Bay is a clone of the original but it retains its history but that's my opinion and I can see how some may see the ride is the original. Thanks for the direction terp.

Follow up though. If the Big Dipper was not sold (or even if it isn't CF property) what keeps them from cloning it for their other parks? Is that basically what happened with our Racer and say Thunder Road?

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Thunder Road was a very different ride than Racer.

After a time, the design patent expires.

A major factor in modern days is industry safety standards. They are far different now than even just 20 years ago.

That's one reason that even when Taft owned parks, rides like Grizzly at Kings Dominion were "loosely based" on Coney Island of Ohio's Wildcat, not clones.