No idea is original, that’s what some might have you think. Though usually we like to rib phone manufacturers for suing one another over the design of a rectangular piece of glass that connects to a cellular signal, last week Gizmodo reported that the copycat fight spilled to housewares.
Today, OXO responded to Quirky’s accusations of stiffing inventors with a long read on what can be broken down to one premise: “No idea is original.” Not be out done by the mock (at least we hope they weren’t serious) protest last week, OXO took their own passive-aggressive stance by offering up some free “advice” to the burgeoning housewares maker:
Some important lessons
We recognize that Quirky is relatively new and there are a few things they are still figuring out. In the spirit of collaboration, we’d like to share some pointers as Quirky continues to iterate on its business model:
- Just because an idea was submitted does not mean that idea is original.
- Just because a product has launched does not mean it’s new. In fact, a similar product could have already been launched and discontinued.
- Just because a patent application was submitted does not mean the application has been reviewed or approved. It also doesn’t mean a patent will be issued.
OXO also offered an explanation as to why OXO could begin selling a product that they have claimed to file a patent for; or as OXO hopes you’ll process their sidebar – why they totally didn’t ripoff Bill Ward’s Broom Groomer design. As far as design beefs go, this is probably one of the sillier ones that we’ve ever covered.
You guys should probably just hug this one out.
Source: OXO
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