Business

MEET “THE CURMUDGEON”


I genuinely enjoy all the folks I’ve come to meet in this industry.  In the dozens of years I’ve been at the SHOT Show, I’ve met the whole spectrum:  The superstars who have the respect of the entire industry, including their competitors; the quiet geniuses who work behind the scenes to provide some of the greatest innovations; the tough guys who love a fight (even in  [...]

THE APRIL FOOLS’ STUNT I DIDN’T DARE PULL


This one goes back more than a few years, but it’s being resurrected because the issues are timeless, and it’s a little amusing looking back when I was just a bit feistier, at least in print.  Email me if you have a good guess as to what year it first appeared. It was so tempting, but I didn’t dare poke the giant beast, even though I could have gotten away with it,  [...]

SPEAK SOFTLY, BUT CARRY A BIG PATENT


How a Patent Shut Down a Competitor  In Only 24 Hours Nothing more forcefully drives home a lesson you’ve been teaching for years than when what you’ve been telling others for years happens to you. I’ve been reminding everyone for years that having a patent can provide real competitive benefits, even if you never have to spend a fortune litigating it. I liken it  [...]

HOW “CAVEMAN” PATENTS WON “BEST” AWARDS AT SHOT SHOW 2026


Sometimes you need to observe very carefully to notice a pattern.  Other times, it smacks you in the face. We love it when our clients get awards (turns out having successful clients is a pretty good business model, imagine that!)  But sometimes, we’re not surprised. “Best Carbine Award” from Recoil Magazine went to our client Stenzel Industries.  We’ve known  [...]

WHY YOU PROBABLY DON’T NEED A PATENT SEARCH


And the Key Signs That Indicate When You Do I love to give advice, especially when I know my prediction will never be wrong.  My favorite advice is to predict “a 50-50 chance of success,” because no matter the outcome I’m never wrong. My other favorite advice is recommending a patentability search.  Because no matter the results, my client is happy.  If we get  [...]

WHEN FOREIGN PATENTS MAKE SENSE FOR FIREARMS INVENTIONS


(Short Answer: “Rarely.” Except…) As an inventor myself, I know the enthusiastic feeling that your invention is going to be an incredible success, and wouldn’t it be a tragedy if you had only the US market protected and the rest of the world was knocking off your invention willy-nilly without paying you a penny.  Unthinkable, right? But good business decisions are  [...]