Similar Technologies or Copying?

[Thrillbilly Jim]

I am always amused how different OEMs can release equipment with ”similar“ technologies at the same time! Case and point...Cleveland RTX Zipcore wedges and now, Mizuno ES21 wedges. Both clubs main marketing strategy is moving the CG of the club away from the hosel and towards the center of the face. Now, they do it completely different ways, but they essentially accomplished the same goal. Now, with the newly released TaylorMade Spider FCG, this does come across as copying directly off another OEM’s homework! But, we‘ve seen many instances of similar tech at the same time....Callaway ERC Soft “Triple Track” and Sacks Parente Vernier Acuity...Callaway A.I. Flash Face, TM Twist Face, Cobra Infinity Face...even same names...Tour Edge Wingman Putter and Bushnell Wingman Speaker! I know patents and trademarks plays a role in this, but can OEMs not keep a secret? What are your thoughts? Is it coincidental, corporate espionage, OEM employees talking to much while having a beer, jumping on the bandwagon?

 

[TCB2010]

Flavor of the month, jumping on the bandwagon and copying. Just mix those 3 together for an answer. How about “bandwagon copying flavor“!

 

[ArmyGolf]

I think that most of the OEMs definitely draw some...ahem...inspiration from their competitors products. But there's no denying they also have their own product development that keeps the train chugging down the tracks.

As a consumer I just don't like to have someone piss on my leg and tell me its raining. Just once I'd love to hear an R&D guy come out and say "Yeah, we saw our competitors tech and knew we needed to incorporate something similar or be left behind!".

Either way though, if 8 OEMs try their hand at all the latest innovations, the only winner is the consumer.

 

[Flipit]

I agree with your thoughts. Let’s take another look since I’m anti copy cat. What if it’s just a trend where company’s are moving towards? Maybe due to pro-staff input? Maybe they got insight from a new employee that came from company B. Maybe the strategy is to wait for a price release and than try and improve on it? Patents are a funny things, and often leave lots of open doors. So do you walk through and try to profit? Or do you walk away and do nothing? It’s really a double edged sword. In the case mentioned my guess is they were both on similar paths. In other cases it may be a year or two later and it’s an improvement
? Or it’s not? As a consumer I think it’s great. As a business owner it sucks to be copied, but it’s the nature of the beast.
Case in point, I like the look of the TM Pix better than the tru vis since it can also be used as an alignment aid. So forth and so on.

 

[BigMac]

I'm still waiting to see which company will be first in line to copycat the Truss putter.

 

[Et Tu Brute?]

There are, what, maybe a thousand different golf club models released every year by dozens of different makers. There can't possibly be a thousand or even a hundred different innovations in a year. Not even a dozen truly meaningful improvements, much less breakthroughs. So yeah, the vast majority of "innovative" products are simply jumping on one bandwagon or another.

 

[Jman]

I'm still waiting to see which company will be first in line to copycat the Truss putter.

TaylorMade WAS the first to copycat that design.

 

[Scorp]

It's been that way since the invention of the club and the discovery of fire. There are plenty of people that have come along and thought "I want to do this!" and gone about doing it. From hot air balloons to powered flight, there are similar ways of thinking often from geographically separated individuals that didn't corraborate... coincidence happened and inventions were similar. I guess. I don't know. I'm not an expert on too much of anything. Read my tag line... I live under a rock.

There's probably some of that corporate espionage going on too... or reverse engineering of product... US patents are available for vieweing I believe. That may help a competitor. Sure, there may be some proprietary information that isn't in the patent (don't know... never really looked at patents to see) but the Zipcore was mentioned. @golfunfiltered has a current interview with the head of marketing for Cleveland golf (and he was previously in R&D at Cleveland golf) talking about the Zipcore wedges... they were in development for 3 years... and the insert that moves the CG to the center of the club head is in place prior to the head being cast around it. Sound like it's some proprietary material to me.

But I'd imagine that the R&D teams at various companies may talk to other R&D teams at other companies... social media is a thing. I don't know. Pure speculation on my part.

 

[dthrog00]

Competing companies in any market with technical products are going to benchmark competitor's product and try to patent their own product's technologies. When a competitor has a technology patented that is offering an advance then the other companies try to find a way to work around the patent and achieve a similar result.

Dave