Minoru Usui, President of Epson, adheres to a valuable lesson that all companies should try to learn. He knows the worth of an Intellectual Property (IP) and therefore, tries his best to capitalize on it. It is only when a company comes out with unique IP that no one else has, that the company will see its sales soar. The negative aspect of IP is that when competitors copy the IP, then sales will plummet and in some cases, may never really recover. That is why companies are always on the lookout for competitors who infringe their unique IP to increase their sales.
Unfair Competition
You may have a winner and you may even have a patent that protects your product. However, there are companies out there that are clever enough to disguise your innovation in other packages and sell it successfully. This goes on all the time and there are instances when companies in New York have sold innovations copied from companies in Florida. It may take a while for the companies to trace the culprits, but in a global market you can expect to find several thousand infringements happening at any given time.
A Lesson to be Learned
Now here is where the genius of Minoru Usui has to be applauded. He is interested only in Intellectual Properties that cannot be copied. For example, his inkjet technology, which he claims is virtually infallible and cannot be copied. His strength lies in making products that people will want and that competitors cannot replicate. His technology is based on machines that are impossible to duplicate due to the difficult design and innovative construction and it is with these machines that make his printers.
To the Very Top
This is the only way a company can go to the top and stay there. No matter how may patent laws are out there, people do not respect them and they go ahead with copying other’s innovations in the hope of making huge profits. They do not mind getting into litigation as long as there are millions to be made on the side. So if you are a company in Florida that makes solar panels, the only way out for you is to make products that cannot be duplicated. Perhaps, this may seem like a tall order, but where a patent law is sure to fail, unique technology that cannot be copied will win. Litigation and pursuing those who infringe on your intellectual property is the best way to protect your idea.
