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Did he actually think this idea would make him rich? Was he that naive? I mean it's a damn retractile stick, there's no actual value to it, of course it would b

Did he actually think this idea would make him rich? Was he that naive? I mean it's a damn retractile stick, there's no actual value to it, of course it would be copied to oblivion...

eveningcoffee 10y ago
In the idealized world where he secured a patent of it, yes. This has been the main promise of the patent system. The main issue here is that the fade might be over before it would be worth to set up the heavy legal instrument for it.
- Ericson2314 10y ago
  Heh I think in our current world you could get a patent for that just fine.
  - tocotun1 10y ago
    Yes, that will for sure stop the Chinese knock-offs... lol I just fail to see where the news here are. It's obvious to me that not even a patent would have prevented this. So what's the news? That they copied it while it was still in the crowdfunding phase?
    - eveningcoffee 10y ago
      I think that the news is actually the speed of the implementation of such idea. It took just one week to start producing it with all the marketing material. I think that this in fact manifest a great weakness of the western industry.
    - quickben 10y ago
      I understand your point but not your cheerfulness. Would you be equally cheerful if it happened to him in US? What if it happened to you on your country?
      - tocotun1 10y ago
        If it had happened to me I would be really mad, but it hasn't happened to me, so I can talk about how I feel about this in an unbiased way. And I feel like this: I'm happy to see that a product that has no actual value (a retractile stick) is produced at a very cheap price. If only the "inventor of the retractile stick" had the rights to produce it, he'd do it at a very inflated price. Now he can't, and everybody (except him) wins. (All of this assuming he would be granted a patent on a retractile stick, which I very much doubt)
        quickben 10y ago
        Well, that's a fair point. On a side note, the current pattent system needs combing. There are so many junk previous-art patents that one has to wonder how they got granted.
        sqeaky 10y ago
        He is only a loser because he had an unreasonable goal: "I want hundreds of thousands of pounds/dollars, for a showerthought and to control the production of an easily copyable device with mere pennies of raw materials in it" If he had a reasonable goal like "I want a bunch of retractable selfie sticks" then he would be a winner too. He has lost nothing and now can buy selfie sticks for $10. Why doesn't buy a bunch and put his logo on them and resell them for $30?
  - dagw 10y ago
    Sure, but even if he did have a patent I don't see how this story would end very differently.
    - Ericson2314 10y ago
      I'm joking that this retractable thing is barely novel, yet would probably get a patent anyways.
      - eveningcoffee 10y ago
        Based on my intuition and very shallow knowledge about the patent system, this would be very likely true. Definition of the inventive step in most patent systems is very weak.
dredmorbius 10y ago
Given the past history of gimmick products which have worked, the expectation is not completely irrational. Pet Rocks. Chia Pets. The Frisbee, yo-yo, and hula-hoop. I'm seeing a certain parallel between this item and the virus swiping a toxin gene from a spider story also on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12722242 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12722242
crispyambulance 10y ago
I was going to say that I doubt the original inventor thought it would "make him rich", that it was just an idea that he wanted to realize and perhaps make some money off it. That would be the reasonable way to look at it. Unfortunately, the guy seems to have gotten busy "enforcing" the IP on copycats in China. The only people who will get any enjoyment out of that is lawyers. Sounds like he's embarking on a miserable never-ending game of wack-a-mole. And for what? A forgettable bauble-store item for impulse buyers on vacation?
- DarkLinkXXXX 10y ago
  Umm, couldn't he just see which manufacturer made the best quality product, and work with them, and make a good profit margin? It may even be in that manufacturers interest to stop the other copycats.

Did he actually think this idea would make him rich? Was he that naive? I mean it's a damn retractile stick, there's no actual value to it, of course it would be copied to oblivion...

eveningcoffee 10y ago

In the idealized world where he secured a patent of it, yes. This has been the main promise of the patent system. The main issue here is that the fade might be over before it would be worth to set up the heavy legal instrument for it.

Ericson2314 10y ago
Heh I think in our current world you could get a patent for that just fine.
- tocotun1 10y ago
  Yes, that will for sure stop the Chinese knock-offs... lol I just fail to see where the news here are. It's obvious to me that not even a patent would have prevented this. So what's the news? That they copied it while it was still in the crowdfunding phase?
  - eveningcoffee 10y ago
    I think that the news is actually the speed of the implementation of such idea. It took just one week to start producing it with all the marketing material. I think that this in fact manifest a great weakness of the western industry.
  - quickben 10y ago
    I understand your point but not your cheerfulness. Would you be equally cheerful if it happened to him in US? What if it happened to you on your country?
    - tocotun1 10y ago
      If it had happened to me I would be really mad, but it hasn't happened to me, so I can talk about how I feel about this in an unbiased way. And I feel like this: I'm happy to see that a product that has no actual value (a retractile stick) is produced at a very cheap price. If only the "inventor of the retractile stick" had the rights to produce it, he'd do it at a very inflated price. Now he can't, and everybody (except him) wins. (All of this assuming he would be granted a patent on a retractile stick, which I very much doubt)
      - quickben 10y ago
        Well, that's a fair point. On a side note, the current pattent system needs combing. There are so many junk previous-art patents that one has to wonder how they got granted.
      - sqeaky 10y ago
        He is only a loser because he had an unreasonable goal: "I want hundreds of thousands of pounds/dollars, for a showerthought and to control the production of an easily copyable device with mere pennies of raw materials in it" If he had a reasonable goal like "I want a bunch of retractable selfie sticks" then he would be a winner too. He has lost nothing and now can buy selfie sticks for $10. Why doesn't buy a bunch and put his logo on them and resell them for $30?
- dagw 10y ago
  Sure, but even if he did have a patent I don't see how this story would end very differently.
  - Ericson2314 10y ago
    I'm joking that this retractable thing is barely novel, yet would probably get a patent anyways.
    - eveningcoffee 10y ago
      Based on my intuition and very shallow knowledge about the patent system, this would be very likely true. Definition of the inventive step in most patent systems is very weak.

dredmorbius 10y ago

Given the past history of gimmick products which have worked, the expectation is not completely irrational. Pet Rocks. Chia Pets. The Frisbee, yo-yo, and hula-hoop. I'm seeing a certain parallel between this item and the virus swiping a toxin gene from a spider story also on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12722242 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12722242

crispyambulance 10y ago

I was going to say that I doubt the original inventor thought it would "make him rich", that it was just an idea that he wanted to realize and perhaps make some money off it. That would be the reasonable way to look at it. Unfortunately, the guy seems to have gotten busy "enforcing" the IP on copycats in China. The only people who will get any enjoyment out of that is lawyers. Sounds like he's embarking on a miserable never-ending game of wack-a-mole. And for what? A forgettable bauble-store item for impulse buyers on vacation?

DarkLinkXXXX 10y ago
Umm, couldn't he just see which manufacturer made the best quality product, and work with them, and make a good profit margin? It may even be in that manufacturers interest to stop the other copycats.