This is how the Knock-off Effect works: someone has an idea for a new product which they release after research, development and investment. Someone else copies it for less money (because that is their nature) and in a much shorter time span as the hard part has already been done. The parties may or may not fight over it in court, but regardless, the premium the innovation commands is diminished. The innovator reacts to protect their market share by going out and making something new (because that is their nature) and the cycle repeats, meanwhile the original innovation is now available to the consumer for less.

1. The
Knock-Off
Effect
The Role of Copycats
in Innovation

2. All products get knocked off
This is inevitable! More companies
exist that copy than who innovate and
with modern technology and the “flat
world”, it is easier than ever before.
This happens to both hugely successful
and less successful products. No one
is immune.

3. What is a Knock-Off?
The nature of “knock-offs” is always to be
cheaper. When is the last time you saw a
copy BETTER than the original?
An “innovation” is what we call a “knock-
off” that makes something better rather than
just cheaper.
Regardless of patents, which can only slow
things down, the knock-offs will appear.

4. Why do companies copy?
While some blatant copying is nefarious,
some is merely the result of human
nature.
Once people see a possibility they didn’t see
before, it opens their mind... to something
very similar to the new innovation.
They become blinded by the innovation and
can’t see any other possibilities.

5. Patents & Lawsuits
Inventors’ objective: come up with an
innovation that can be reasonably protected
with a patent.
However, a patent does not enforce itself
and you will have to be proactive to protect
your territory.
Lawsuits can get very expensive (over
$1 million), so it will typically only make
business sense for big-time products, like
smartphones.

6. The Knock-Off Effect
The Knock-Off Effect is the name of a
cycle that occurs in the innovative space
of any industry wherein new innovations
inevitably spawn coypcats, driving
the price of innovations down for the
consumer and forcing new innovation.

7. How it all works...
step 1 Someone has an idea for a
new product.
step 2 They release it
after research,
development
and investment.

8. How it all works...
Someone else copies it for less money
step 3 (because that is their nature), and in a much
shorter time span, as the hard part has already
been done.

9. How it all works...
The parties may or may not fight over it
step 4 in court, but regardless; the premium the
innovation commands is diminished.

10. How it all works...
step 5 The original innovation is now available to
the consumer for less.
The cycle repeats...
step 1 The innovator reacts to
protect their market share
by going out and making
something new (because
that is their nature).

11. The Knock-Off Effect
someone has an
idea for a new
product
1
the original
innovation is now they release it
available to the after research &
consumer for 5 2 investment
less Knock-Off
Effect
4 3
the parties may someone else
or may not fight copies it for less
over it in court money

12. What you can do...
As an innovator you need to recognize when to
move on, and not merely sit back and bemoan
the inevitable.
Use your patents to recapture some of the
value taken by pirates.
Just remember that with the Knock-Off
Effect, speed is your best friend. Speed to
innovation, speed to market and speed to
general awareness in the public eye.

13. Case Study 1: Pizza Cutter
Zyliss came out with the idea that the handle of a pizza
step 1 cutter doesn’t have to be a stick, which opens up the
mind to non-stick-and-wheel pizza cutters.
old new
Zyliss achieves market penetration with a new pizza
step 2
cutter.

14. Case Study 1: Pizza Cutter
Zyliss is selling their pizza cutters and then
step 3 Alibaba Factory X sees this, and they are
already making pizza cutters, so they can
replicate the new design easily.

15. Case Study 1: Pizza Cutter
Now Zyliss has to decide to whether or not
step 4 to pursue a patent lawsuit based the value of
their intellectual property and the cost of the
legal battle.
The knock-offs are on shelves regardless
step 5 of lawsuit putting price pressure on your
products, this good for the consumer because
now they are getting better prices due to the
competition.

16. Case Study 1: Pizza Cutter
Now someone, Trident Design (my company),
creates a new innovative pizza cutter, the
Pitzo, which improves upon every design
advancement made to date. Now we will
inevitably go back into the cycle again.

17. Case Study 2: iPhone
Apple’s iPhone spawned many copycats.
Samsung was found by a court to be violating
Apple’s patents and fined $1B

18. Case Study 2: iPhone
Hopefully as a result of Apple’s win, companies
will try and walk further from the copycat line,
yielding more product diversity.
Meanwhile, while Apple is snagging an extra
billion dollars from an already old design and
dealing a blow to a major competitor, don’t
think it is not already moving on to the next
innovation.

19. Case Study 3: Dyson
Dyson’s vacuum also spawned many copycats.
Dyson

20. Conclusion
Knock-offs, while annoying, are absolutely inevitable.
They drive the price of innovations down for the
consumer, forcing new innovation.
Even though it’s frustrating for inventors to be copied,
it can’t be prevented, so you must plan for it and keep
innovating to stay ahead of the copycats.
Today, due to the Knock-Off Effect, you can buy a
pizza cutter that is more effective than anything
before it at a price point comparable to older, inferior
designs.

21. 24 E Lincoln St
Columbus, OH 43215
info@trident-design.com
tel: 614.291.2435
fax: 614.291.9473
www.trident-design.com