An urbane, reasoned one, but nonetheless...
If you aren't up on NYC design drama, last week, in what one would hope is a publicity stunt and not a self-serious act of protest, Quirky, an invention-development company, put up a billboard and gathered a crowd to draw attention to the similarities between a product they brought to market in 2009 and one OXO, the housewares company, did recently.
Here is the PDF of their response: OXO FINAL Response
Hyperbolic headline aside, what do you design-types think? Tell us in the comments!
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Just because you have the legal rights to do something you have to ask yourself do we have moral right to do it. Since these two company’s play in the similar spaces you might what to see if your actions are of the highest quality. In this case I believe that both sides have failed each other. One for OXO to use the design elements of the dust pan from a meeting with the inventor then passing on the idea. Then QUIRKY for the public protest looks like something out of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
OXO had the totally legal right to use the design but not the moral one.
QUIRKY had the legal right to public protest but not the moral one. Since they had no legal claim to the design any one can use it. If you do not protect your IP you lose it. It is a gift from the government it states that you get the gift of excusive market use of your idea (not a monopoly) but you have to file for patent, disclose the method of the patent. If you do not take these steps you lose all your rights.
We must all seek a higher place then just legal rights; we need to respect each other and the companies we work for. I have been designing for over 20 years; have never stepped into a court room because I seek this in myself.
BK/QUIRKY = ass
When a teenage Cassius Clay saw all the thousands and thousands of people paying good money to see Gorgeous George get beat up he became `the Greatest`.
BK just wants the PR, this is why he was just on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday.
Don`t be jealous.
-JAA
I am the Smartest!
http://www.quirky.com/ideations/388552
Oxo very classy response by the way.
@silhouette- had same thought re clear keyboard dude
Now I think that they are arrogant people that make low quality products. Great marketing technique Quirky.
Agree.
And to what end? What are they trying to accomplish or prove? Saying Smart/OXO are bad people/companies? Just provoke deep thoughts on intellectual property? Someone gonna get sued or assaulted? No? Well then shut the heck up. Smart/OXO can just say "OK...say we did rip you off. What are you gonna do about it, huh?"
I can bet, as OXO points out in their response, that Quirky has tons of products that have already been patented or been seen somewhere in the world already and they probably know it but just play blind. Their business model after all is not to invent anything but just to make "inventor's" ideas a reality. Do they actually do some intense patent research before they start working on a new idea?
This seems really hypocritical to me...
http://sell.lulusoso.com/selling-leads/686926/rubber-band-with-Hook.html
http://www.bluelounge.com/products/cabledrop/
http://www.yolkr.com/
http://www.yankodesign.com/2009/03/12/who-moved-my-cheese/
Is Quirky going to pick fights with everyone?
This could be a brilliant PR move. They are now being mentioned in the same sentences as one of the most influential firms in the industry. Doing this is a huge risk that could have huge rewards if the story gets picked up by the media.
Of course, it could also be a poorly concieved, potentially immature, gut reaction towards feeling like Quirky got ripped off.
If that is the case, I would put this in the same realm many of the Core77 posters over the years who feel they have been ripped off. A recent discussion about a clear keyboard comes to mind.
Quirky's response to being one upped by OXO makes me think the former may be the case, but we will never know.
There is a fine line to walk when claiming someone ripped you off. If you cross it, as I belive Quirky has done here, you risk becoming the"bad guy" very quickly.
http://www.lekue.es/en/citrus-spray-3400115
and Quirky makes this:
http://www.quirky.com/products/187-stem-citrus-fruit-juice-sprayer
who was the first??
To continue reading more on this corporate drama Quirky posted a lame response to OXO's response on their site.
Maybe Addison F. Kelley's family should be posting a billboard.
As someone who previously publicly accused another firm of biting my work, I'd say the best thing for Quirky to do here is pull on the big girl panties and get back to work.
Quite ballsy of Quirky to get into a pissing match with Smart/OXO, one of the groups that made well-designed housewares a 'thing'. They got owned, rightfully so.
judging by quirky's resppnse to OXO's response, I start to wonder where Ben is coming from.