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SHOT SHOW 2018

The Health of the Industry? First, my immune system is checking in “safe” after returning from the Show. I think there was much more health consciousness and courtesy at this show than ever before as we all come to grips with the fact that the show is unmissable even for the ailing, but one we each need to survive. I’d like to thank all those who offered fist bumps or apologies instead of germy handshakes – and all those who had hand sanitizer available everywhere. Maybe it used to be cool not to be nervous about germs, but these days everyone seems to have gotten  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | February 8, 2018 | Business, Firearms, Firearms Industry Advice | 0 Comments Read More »

Pop Goes The Weasel

How to Beat the Weaselly Arguments From Your Competitor’s Patent Attorney... The “Keep Alive” Strategy Revealed Some Lawyers are Cuter than Others There’s nothing quite as sweet as when your patent application earns its “Notice of Allowance” and is about to become a patent. It means your invention was truly novel, and your patent attorney did a good job. In a short while you’ll be able to stop any competitors who are copying your product – or rest easy knowing that if any infringers pop up, you have the power to stop them. Hopefully. A wise old  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | January 4, 2018 | Books & Resources, Business, Firearms Industry Advice, Intellectual Property Advice, Patent | 0 Comments Read More »

How to be Truly Ready for the SHOT Show

When anyone in the gun industry gets a whiff of pumpkin pie, their gut tightens a bit because they know how much work they have to do to get ready for the SHOT Show. It’s that time of year. The calendar may say there’s a couple of months, but with Christmas and all the pre-SHOT chores there isn’t much time at all. You probably had your rooms booked right after the show last year, and your flights booked in summer. But you’ve been working all year, developing new product and new branding strategies. Based on what I hear from clients, a disproportionate number of  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | December 7, 2017 | Business, Firearms, Firearms Industry Advice, How To | 0 Comments Read More »

NASGW Down SHOT Up

The Impeccably-Tailored Kelly McMillan Boldly Sports Cutting-Edge Mismatched Sneakers in San Antonio. It’s like they gather the industry and put on a convention just for yours truly. The NASGW Expo is a special favorite industry gathering. I “discovered” it only in more recent years, and have grown quite fond of it. It seems to include just about everyone I hope to see, yet fits in about 1/10th the space as the SHOT Show. You can go from one corner of the hall (room) to the other in a 5-minute walk. You can cover all ten aisles in a half day even if you take your  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | November 7, 2017 | Business, Firearms | 0 Comments Read More »

Steel Spines Required

After the Mandalay Massacre* I must salute my friends and clients who produce innovative products that help guns go “bang” faster and better. It’s indisputable that select fire weapons are of great military usefulness, and even if these are effectively banned to the people the Second Amendment should be considered to protect bump-fire stocks, rotary trigger, and binary triggers. Like any firearm these can be used for evil purposes, but they can also be used to ensure “the security of a free state” in the same manner that full-auto machine guns are used by our  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | October 16, 2017 | Firearms, Intellectual Property Advice, Patent | 0 Comments Read More »

How To Kill A Patent

Unpatented but Legally Potent It all started when I was on Facebook, innocently minding my own business. OK, as usual I was actually minding everyone else’s business on Facebook. Sometimes, when Karmen hears me typing furiously in the next room she calls out: “Honey, is someone wrong on the Internet again?” I have a zillion Facebook friends in the industry, so I sometimes catch wind of new trends before things go viral. On one recent day, it was a post about a gun company that sells stocks with an embedded bubble level to help avoid aiming errors caused by a rifle  [...]

By Ben Langlotz | September 7, 2017 | Firearms, How To, Intellectual Property Advice, Patent | 0 Comments Read More »