In this - probably last - article focused on intellectual property and copyrights, I think it may be useful to reflect on what happens once a project is realesed.
In other words: what happens to an ornamental model once it is patented? As usual, the answer is not one, because there are so many different needs. For sure, at the beginning you can choose to follow an approach, keeping an eye on how things evolve. For instance, some opt for a more static approach and settle for to promote it a little, on the corporate website, on the packaging, in the catalog.
The term “to settle for” is, however, not accurate if intended with a negative meaning: it’s more correct to say “that she/he considers it enough”. Actually, it cannot be considered as a negative attitude, except when it is done for mere laziness, indifference, deliberate ignorance and without any choice. Another approach is, instead, more dynamic, aiming to protect your property, with different levels of “pushiness”.
More often, it is used in case of very “dear” projects you are very proud of, for the demanding investment from a creative or marketing point of view or for those products that are really having success and that envious competitors want to copy.
How to deal with overflowing copies? First of all, understanding that you have gained great success! I also say this to minimize a situation that can be easily understood and that can be very annoying. It comes without saying that, if a product is well chosen, it must be taken into account that many will copy it and many will be inspired by it.
Obviously, you can also decide to ‘fight the great enemy’ by making her/ him aware that she/he is moving into the other’s area, with more or less direct actions.
At beginning, if this competitor has always been a ‘rival’, you can have a rush reaction, but you should also consider the actual situation (litigation strategies can be very different), also considering the future (sometimes you can do a favor that can be repaid).
An expert in industrial property, if involved promptly, can provide another point of view based on her/his experience, giving interesting and useful insights.
In any case, competition must always be managed with awareness. The appearance of similar products on the market cannot justify the approach “if they all do it, I can do it too”. Starting from the assumption that an industrial property right, and therefore also a design, cannot be violated, it is necessary to maliciously imagine how are the actual things.
Sometimes, a market of similar products which apparently live in harmony hides an opportunistic passiveness or an exclusive agreement between two companies or, again, a license. Sometimes, instead, a rough fight is latent, waiting only to be unleashed at the right moment!
