I never got in on the whole "At Will Employment Is Never In The Employees Best Interest" (whoops, am I taking a side

) rabbit hole - I'm merely concentrating on if they are "Illegal" - as in a criminal penalty will be assessed by the State because a law was broken by either attempting to/ordering them, receiving them, or using them (on animals, yourself, or shooting the pretty blue bottles with a BB gun).
I consider the Patent Infringement argument a rabbit hole too - because that's Tort Law and no one goes to jail. The patent holder (plantiff) would have to sue individual users in court and would only receive money. *Highly Unlikely* for that to happen (ridiculous RIAA music lawsuits aside) - possible with the RC Company itself though I guess.
Basically, right or wrong, I consider Illegal = The State can put you in jail.