Closer to the edge

Well, it would appear that my little article has touched a nerve in a few places. I've seen an amazing outpouring of support from staff, management and executives at many of my competitors, for which I am truly grateful. This industry is so small, and getting smaller all the time, so these connections between us all are invaluable and heartening.

There's still a need to follow up though, as there are still a lot of ignorant comments floating about, and in the modern day we're in danger of converting opinions to facts just on the basis of the frequency of their appearance. With that in mind, I'm not going to address any one comment directly, as this isn't about singling anyone out, but I am going to dispel a few myths.

1: What the article was and wasn't about.

Well, it wasn't about L Brackets. It wasn't about me complaining about people making products more cheaply. It wasn't about vilifying an entire nation. It was in response to comments posted on our Press Release, about L Brackets, and about them being made more cheaply in China, but my response was intended to be a "cover all" explanation, that details the processes involved in innovating and bringing a new product to market, so that consumers may understand that manufacturers aren't trying to rip them off - they're just trying to recoup their capital expenditure and make a profit. The product itself, in the context of the article, is irrelevant.

2: Intellectual Property - what is, and what isn't acceptable or legal.

More than one person has jumped on my article and suggested that I'm guilty of doing exactly what they think I'm "complaining" about. I've seen comments stating that I've "copied several other manufacturers" and that I "haven't invented anything", and "there's nothing to protect". That's just plain nonsense.

Patents expire after 20 years, sometimes earlier if they aren't renewed, and this expiry was created so that we could progress. Without existing technologies, innovation stalls. Take for example something simple like Ibruprofen. Ten years ago you had to buy the branded product, Neurofen, for ￡4 - ￡5 per box. Now you can get it for as little as 16p a box, because it's gone off patent. New manufacturers can afford to sell it at that price because there was zero overhead in the development. All they've done is reverse engineer the compound, and set up production for themselves, and it's perfectly legal. There are life-saving cancer drugs like Gleevec, which, for the duration of the patent have cost patients in the region of $84,000 (1995) to $146,000 (2015) for a year of treatment ( source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imatinib ). This January it came off patent, and generic Imatinib is now being produced by a number of different pharma companies, with an expected treatment cost of under $5,000. This will save millions of lives.

Every day we use products which are generic versions of the original, quite legally. Sticky tape, non-stick frying pans, cruise control in your car, GPS, televisions, light bulbs, weed-killer, sunglasses - there are literally billions of examples.

How is this relevant to the article I wrote? Well, I didn't invent tripods. Neither did Manfrotto, Gitzo, Really Right Stuff, Vanguard, Velbon, Slik, Benro, Mefoto, Induro, Novoflex or anyone else in the modern industry for that matter. But if the original invention hadn't gone off patent, we'd all be hauling 6ft, 20kg oak tripods around with us. Technically the Ancient Egyptians pioneered the use of tripods to support work tools, but I don't suppose they'll contribute to this debate...

All of the above mentioned companies can do what they do because the patents expired, enabling them to harness existing technology, and then concentrate their efforts on improving it.

The greatest compliment for any brand is that their innovation becomes an industry standard when it goes off patent. This doesn't happen often, and it is not to be underestimated. My original article was timed (coincidentally) such that Bowens went into liquidation less than 24 hours after I published it. The Bowens mount is an industry standard, because it's a bloody good mount. I've seen articles about the downfall of Bowens being all about the incursion of Chinese copies, but I think that's simplifying it. I don't know what happened with Bowens, but I do know that it cannot just be blamed on China, otherwise we'd be seeing the end of Elinchrom, Profoto, Broncolor etc.

So, getting back to industry standards... Arca Swiss is the first one that springs to mind. For all those people who accused me of copying other brands by introducing a product that already existed in the market place, take a step back and open your eyes. Those other comparable products almost exclusively utilise a system invented by Arca Swiss. The Arca connection is an industry benchmark, let alone a standard, which is why so many manufacturers use it. And yet there's no legitimate calling out of any of the brands I've previously mentioned for using it, because they do so legally, and I would put money on it that in every circumstance they've tried to improve it.

Gitzo are another great example - back in 1983 they invented the counter-fold legs, and effectively pioneered the travel tripod. They also invented the detachable monopod leg. Both of these technologies are now utilised by almost every single brand on the market, for the same reason that people adopted Arca Swiss - it's a great piece of technology, and not embracing it would be considerably more damaging to growth prospects than using the idea and innovating beyond the original scope of the invention.

So when I see comments about copying, it's frustrating. There's not a single company I've previously mentioned that doesn't use at least one of the two industry standards above.

And when I talk about copying, I'm not talking about using legally available technology. I'm talking about literal copying. The people saying that my L Bracket is no different than versions that already existed aren't looking in the right places. We use the Arca Swiss mount, like most brands, but we have a specific profile that we believe gives us a better connection than the original dovetail. Pick any Arca-style plate in the world, including any L Bracket, and look at it end-on and compare it to our mount, and there's simply no comparison - they use different profiles. The depth of the hollow base is different, because our camera screw is different and requires a specific clearance between the thread and the shaft. There's no other L Bracket that I know of with a secondary strap connector, or a 1/4" accessory mount. There's no other L Bracket with tessellated triangular pads, designed to disassemble for flat storage, with the tools provided to do it. The whole shape, width and length of the base and upright aspects are different than anyone else's. These are all unique design elements attributable to my company, and whilst there are people in the world who will scoff and dismiss these attributes as "irrelevant" or "obvious" it's these kind of innovations that lead to progression. And if they are so obvious, why hasn't anyone else done it? These design elements took time to form, and significant capital expenditure. There's no guarantees that this will work. Innovators have to take risks. Counterfeiters don't. Simple as.

3: OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

There are a tonne of products in the market now, that we refer to as OEM. Take a look at any "own brand" product in any store, and you'll find ten other stores selling the same product with a different name on it. It's very common. Do you know how many cars exist in the world that are badged under different manufacturers? Check it out yourself: https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/twinned-vehicles-same-cars-different-brands.html

Now, there's nothing wrong with OEM products, but they are rarely globalised, because they have no competitive advantage. There are products with OEM components that will fit into that mould though. Back when I started 3LT I honestly didn't know what I was doing (potentially still true). I purchased generic parts - camera screws, release plates, shims, clamps, leg rubbers, tubing and effectively arranged them in such a manner as to create a unique product. We're a long way from there now - these days I design every single component, but there are lots of examples where this still happens, and more than you would think. Very few tripod companies make their own carbon, or go to any lengths to design their own. Most utilise existing tubing. Nearly every camera manufacturer uses the same sensor supplier. Nearly every lens manufacturer uses the same glass supplier.

So, calling something a copy, just because you can't see the differences, is lazy, and frankly does a disservice to the person that created the product. The ignorant comments about what is protectable and what is not just further exacerbate the situation. There's a film called "Flash of Genius", a biography of automotive inventor, Robert Kearns. This man invented the intermittent windscreen wiper, and was mercilessly ripped off by half a dozen car manufacturers. They argued that everything in the box already existed, and that all Mr. Kearns had succeeded in doing was to re-arrange those parts in order to facilitate an intermittent wipe. All of the big manufacturers dismissed Mr. Kearns' claims as frivolous, stipulating that he hadn't invented a single component in the box. Mr. Kearns argued his case by handing one of the defendants a book and asking him to read the first line. He then asked if the author invented each and every word in that first line. It was accepted that the words in the book already existed, but that the art in this case was that the words were rearranged in such a manner as to produce a literary masterpiece. It is people like Robert Kearns that shape our future.

Since I wrote that article I've had emails and messages from staff & senior executives at Manfrotto, Gitzo, Sachler, Zacuto, Really Right Stuff, Kirk, Think Tank Photo, Black Rapid, Peak Design, Tamrac, Vanguard, Benro / Mac Group, Sigma, Nikon, GoPro, Red Bull, Casio, Toyota, Format Hitech, Lee Filters, Panavision, Bowens, Steiner Optics, Hasselblad, Fujifilm, Sony, MagMod and many more besides.

These brands are all working hard to keep our industry alive at a time when it is most in danger of capitulating. They are invested, financially and emotionally into the progression and innovation of technologies, advancements in capabilities and functionality, and the purity of design. They employ tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people across the globe, all of whom are doing their part to ensure that there is a constant flow of new products.

Contrary to popular belief, there are great friendships among rivals. I'm very privileged to call the heads of most tripod companies my friends. Sure, we're competitors, and of course we bump heads from time to time, sometimes legally, more often emotionally, but we need each other to survive. Without competition, innovation ends. If a single entity monopolises, then the whole landscape becomes about affordability. If there were only one car manufacturer, we'd all be driving the same car, and it would come down to whether or not we could afford to buy it. Without competition, they can charge what they like. It's the same with patents. Great innovation comes with great overhead, but unless we change our consumer mentality, we are at risk of grinding innovation to a halt.

Thank you to everyone who has shared the original article. And to all those who contributed responses, positive or negative. We live in a world of differing opinions, and for that I am grateful.

Some of you will know that I spent many years of my life, on stage, working a career in stand up comedy. In the early days I used to get frustrated if I received a negative response, or someone walked out of a show while I was on stage. Don Ward, legend that he is, and owner of the original Comedy Store in London (this is the guy that gave Robin Williams his big break), once pulled me aside after a gig and gave me some of the greatest advice I've ever had. In his words - "Danny, if at least two people don't walk out while you're on stage, you're not close enough to the edge."

Since that day, I've lived by that sentiment. All I can do is be the best I can be, and take whatever happens as it happens. Sometimes I succeed. Many times I've failed. To quote the brilliant, and effervescent comedian, Mick Miller; "I've died finer deaths than Nelson, and nobody kissed me on the way down."

Danny