Blog

REMEMBERING THE REMINGTON ROYALTY LESSON

Too Big to Fail? Remington’s Bizarre “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” Campaign It was fourteen years ago that I wrote about one of our industry friends playing an interesting voicemail at the SHOT Show. Consider all that has changed since then. These friends are innovators, with some valuable patents in their portfolio. Because Remington liked one of their inventions, they worked out a licensing deal. Remington paid royalties, and got to use the invention. Often, it’s the big guys paying the innovative upstarts. Pretty cool. Hoping for Handouts from the  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | August 18, 2025 | Business, Firearms Industry Advice, Intellectual Property Advice, Opinion Pieces | 0 Comments Read More »

ARE YOU READY FOR THE SILENT EARTHQUAKE?

Can Ending a $200 Tax Transform the Industry? Just like that, the $200 transfer tax on suppressors (and SBRs etc.) is gone.  Without much fanfare Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill repealed a tax that may prove to have been the primary roadblock to innovation and economic success. I won’t weigh in on the Elon perspective that the Bill spends too much (I tend to agree with Elon), or whether gun rights organizations fumbled the change to end all registration (they probably did fine getting what they did).  But the question is: How big of a difference will a tax reduction  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | July 15, 2025 | Firearms Industry Advice, Legal News, Opinion Pieces | 0 Comments Read More »

MICROMANAGING THE “MICRO ENTITY” PATENT FEE DISCOUNT

As a few years have passed since Congress threw a little bone to start-up inventors, we’ve learned a few things. The good news is that you might qualify for reduced patent fees under the patent laws, thanks to a “gift” from Congress to small inventors.  I didn’t follow the battle, but I expect it was a way for them to look like they are being generous in some small way when they’re raising fees in a big way. Half-price patent fees sounds like a good deal.  I used to be nervous that it might be too risky to enjoy the benefit.  I’ve mellowed out, and  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | June 19, 2025 | Business, Opinion Pieces, Patent | 0 Comments Read More »

THE JOURNALIST’S GUIDE TO GUNS

(How Not to Look Like an Idiot When Writing About Guns) Journalists.  Bless their hearts.  As a rule of thumb, any time we read a news story about a subject or incident we already know a lot about, it turns out that about 25% of what’s reported is simply wrong. This is why knowledgeable gun owners distrust many news stories involving guns: because too many “journalists” display an ignorance of firearms that would be laughable if it weren’t so appalling.  If they can’t get their facts straight about gun technology and the facts about shooting, then we  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | April 21, 2025 | Firearms | 0 Comments Read More »

WHEN TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS GO OVERBOARD

Branding Strategy for My New Product Finally, I can now reveal how a trademark attorney picks brands, and even goes a bit overboard to maximize the potential value of the venture.  It’s all about my hex key tool invention concept I wrote about some time ago. To recap, I used to get irritated with needing two Allen wrench sets and never knowing whether a socket head screw was metric or standard.  Even with both sets in hand, I not only had to test each set to find the biggest tool that fit, but then had to assess which best fit was better.  My forehead-slapping  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | March 18, 2025 | Business, Intellectual Property Advice, Marketing, Trademark | 0 Comments Read More »

WHY ARE YOU STILL MARKETING TO POOR PEOPLE? (Our Industry’s Missing Market Segment)

Have you ever sat down to a big round table with a bunch of industry folks, and the conversation just didn’t quite get off the ground? I had dinner some time ago with a good client, but with a bunch of key people I didn’t yet know very well. When the conversation stalled, I got out my conversational secret weapon: “So what hobbies and enthusiasms do y’all have outside of shooting?” When I ask this old standby question, I learn just how diverse we are. The responses ranged from outdoor garden model railroad layouts with vintage German locomotives, to  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | February 19, 2025 | Business, Firearms Industry Advice, Marketing | 0 Comments Read More »