Lynn Thompson does this to whip up some marketing attention. He has previously gotten into locker room measuring contests with others - like, Strider. Once the publics attention was on those in the spotlight he then introduced a knife that shared many of the same features as Striders fixed blade - for about 15% the price. The issue IIRC was what was affordable to a soldier deploying overseas.
The real answer is most soldiers don't carry fixed blades, and a lot of commanders in non combat units -which are 90% of the force - don't allow them. So it was a bogus argument from the beginning, same as this. Define virtual.
I suspect CS will come out next with a copy of the LAWKS that is borderline infringing on the patent. That would be typical.
They do make some good products - but as long as Lynn Thompson remains in charge it only adds to the difficulty of marketing the products after he's gone. Entrepreneurs usually put their company in a bad position just before they retire and the organization rarely survives because responsibility was never parceled out fully and delegated. A good marketing manager would have known not to do this.
The real answer is most soldiers don't carry fixed blades, and a lot of commanders in non combat units -which are 90% of the force - don't allow them. So it was a bogus argument from the beginning, same as this. Define virtual.
I suspect CS will come out next with a copy of the LAWKS that is borderline infringing on the patent. That would be typical.
They do make some good products - but as long as Lynn Thompson remains in charge it only adds to the difficulty of marketing the products after he's gone. Entrepreneurs usually put their company in a bad position just before they retire and the organization rarely survives because responsibility was never parceled out fully and delegated. A good marketing manager would have known not to do this.
