So, within the last 2 months or so, I have seen several of the designs/concepts I've created and posted on TFW and on my studio's Instagram account suddenly pop up in various "upgrade" kits and parts being advertised as new offerings from Chinese companies, who all of a sudden are jumping into the "height extension" parts niche that I started promoting (to equal amounts of support and ridicule) here in the Radicons section of TFW throughout the past year. KO's and idea theft aren't new, and I buy both KOs and official product depending on the collection gap it'll fill for me, but what does kind of shock/surprise/frustrate me is that now it seems like these companies are going after low hanging targets like customizers and small scale Shapeway shop operators to take ideas to sell. It's now to the point where I've basically lost the motivation to keep creating new designs and offering them through orders or through my Shapeways shop.
My main question is, have any of you other customizers and small shop owners experienced this at all? I've seen tons of great stuff in Radicons, and now I can't help thinking that these Chinese companies found a new neighborhood to rip ideas off from and that we'll start seeing this kind of crap more and more now, whereas in the past they would just OSKO stuff from bigger companies. Interested to hear from you all.

 

I think you’re probably right.
If I’m being honest though, I don’t let it bother me too much.
I know that I don’t have the means to make a high quality injection molded or high spec printed SLA product, based off of my own designs. I wish I did, but I accept that I don’t and because of that, the window of opportunity to promote my own work is small.
China is great at manufacturing at low cost. It’s a sad reality in some ways but also, if they do take an idea from the customs here, they normally improve it in terms of function and certainly in terms of finish.
So, another perspective is that although they may have taken ‘inspiration’ from your design, you then have the choice to stick with your version of it or lay down a bit if money to get the improved version that may not have been there if you hadn’t come up with the idea in the first place.
Unfortunate consolation prize, I know.
But, until we figure out a way, as a group to buy into a way of having these parts mass manufactured at a reasonable cost, it is the reality we are faced with  

 

A Chinese company stealing someone's ideas to sell? I'm shocked.

 

Brings new meaning to Chinese Takeaway...