Dave,

You have good points... why would people continue to get in the market with good new ideas if they know it's only a matter of time before they get copied? I know from reading your other posts that you make custom bird decoys and that you've had other companies copy some of your stuff. Why do you keep doing it, and what allows you to continue to succeed? I bet you aren't just sitting around crying in your beer when the competition comes out with something similar to yours, no?

Some ideas that come to my mind in regards to how small mfgr's can survive in the face of larger competition are below, and you'll notice that I don't think waging an internet and phone call war to spread the word that you feel like your bait got copied isn't on the list.

1. They can make lures that are so good that even the copies don't work as well. For example, if the baby tool works better than the bbz-1, word will go around and Jerry will continue to sell lots of product. Not to sound derogatory toward a specific company, but have you heard much about the River2Sea Wood-n-Slither? It's a very similar bait to the Triple Trout but everyone I've talked to says Triple Trout works better. They're about the same price, so which would you buy? Fisherman want lures that catch fish and I know plenty of guys who would pay $100 for a bait that catches fish vs. buying 3 lures that don't. I can think of many examples where the original bait in a lure category is still the best (cough senko cough). If your bait is the best bait, you'll succeed.

2. They can innovate in the manufacturing process so that competitors have a hard time even trying to copy their product. I haven't seen a mass produced soft plastic paint job that looks as good a Huddleston Deluxe, have you? People buy Hudd's because they have incredible soft plastic paint details and while you can't patent a great paint job, you can use one to stay head of the mass produced competition. I think of the MS Slammer in this category too. It's hard to make wood hardbaits with consistent action and even if someone did mass produce a Slammer like wood bait, you can be sure that it wouldn't be the same because the mass production guy isn't going take the time to do all of the time consuming little things that make the Slammer a great lure.

3. They can drive their own costs down through manufacturing processes to keep even or below competitor's pricing. That might sound unrealistic for a single guy working in a small shop but there are ways.

4. They can apply for a patent, get a lawyer and defend their patents as agressively as possible.

In closing I want to say again - I feel sympathy for the small guy who gets his design copied and I wish there were better laws to protect people with innovate fishing lure designs. But in the mean time, in light of the reality of the fishing lure industry, the small manufacturers should stop acting so surprised and affronted when their products get copied and start spending some more time doing what they can to protect themselves and ensure that they can continue to stay in business.