Patents Over Innovation
FSB – Stifling innovation is a pet peeve of mine –
Without the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, cheap imitations would flood the market and put us out of business, so we spend roughly 4 percent of our annual budget obtaining and defending our patents. It’s our third-largest expense, after cost of goods and payroll. We have filed more than 100 design patents, utility patents, and trademark registrations in 20 countries, and we hold two registered trademarks on our two-bottle tote.
Not a fan. Add value to your product or create a new product for your customer base. This company shows a marked inability to move into a new economic era.
As an aside: The returns on this kind of investment are fleeting. Globalizing supply chains and rapid manufacturing will pump copycat products into the economy faster than legal action can be taken. This could get very complicated with black globalization feeding this phenomenon as indicated in this WP article:
To turn the tide, Gutierrez said China needs to attack the criminal gangs that are behind the manufacture and trade of most pirated goods.
-Shlok
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