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Whether or not we see the value in selfie-sticks, we surely must find at least a little value in people that design solutions at least being able to recoup the
by lhnz 10y ago
Whether or not we see the value in selfie-sticks, we surely must find at least a little value in people that design solutions at least being able to recoup the costs of development?
It's quite likely, that there are solutions that exist that will take a large amount of investment, but yet once created will have little economic moat to protect themselves from duplication.
Not all of these solutions will be as frivolous as a retractable selfie-stick, and with a financial disincentive to investing in designing them, we create a very low likelihood that these solutions will be created.
That said, I guess unless someone can come up with a cheap system to ensure originators get paid, there's very little that we can do other than express outrage.
- gilgoomesh 10y agoPatents were designed to address exactly this problem. Unfortunately, patents are flawed too – possibly more flawed than the problems they're designed to fix. The article discusses other options (brand recognition, software lock-in, less common materials, etc).
- jasonkostempski 10y agoNo risk, no reward. Copying, I think, should be planned for, especially in a global market. If a single video is enough to copy it, then maybe don't release a video before you're done making it. What I hate seeing is when an idea gets copied and then the laws made to guard against copying get used against the creator preventing them from even competing on other fronts like quality, marketing, etc.
- Cpoll 10y agoIf it gets too bad, though, you have the opposite, "no reward, no risk". Then things don't get created. If I know that my idea will get sniped, I'm not going to put the time and effort into the design and the Kickstarter.
- Nullabillity 10y agoIf it had been that hard to design then the "copycats" wouldn't have got there so quickly. And no, I absolutely don't agree that you should get exclusive rights to charge a 4x+ markup just because you were the "first" to claim rounded corners.