It must be so easy to start making kites?
Slingshot Sports and Liquid Force Exchange Intellectual Property Rights
3-15-2011 Hood River, OR and Encinitas, CA
Innovation and Technology drive progression and enable athletes to take their sport to the next level.
Slingshot Sports and Liquid Force are both market leaders when it comes to product innovation and today Slingshot has agreed to license Liquid Force's latest binding patent and Liquid Force has agreed to license Slingshot's control bar patent.
Jeff Logosz, CEO of Slingshot Sports says “We are strong proponents of technology and innovation. Utilizing Liquid Force's binding patent gives our designers the freedom to build new products on a proven platform that will enhance our boot to board connection. Fortunately, we were able to come to an agreement with Liquid Force pretty easily, and we are happy to be in good cooperation with them.”
Liquid Force was issued US Patent No. 7,766,711 on August 3rd, 2010. Since that time, Liquid Force has been attempting to cooperate with all the brands who utilize this technology. Slingshot joins Hyperlite, CWB, and Naish, as companies who have agreed to license this technology.
Slingshot Sports was issued US Patent No. 7,581,701 for innovation in control bar technology. Tony Finns says “Slingshots new control bar patent enables the rider to adjust the power of the kite easier so our team riders and designers utilized this technology to design our kite bars.” Tony also added “I am really stoked that we are able to cooperate with Slingshot. They are an innovative company, and we were able to work a deal out that will benefit all wakeboarders and kiteboarders.”
“We are moving our sports forward” added Logosz. “Innovation drives progression, and both Liquid Force and Slingshot riders will benefit from the solid cooperation between the brands”
www.freepatentsonline.com/7581701.html
Interesting, but what does that suggest?
It's quite normal that companies protect some sort of innovations with patents, and if it makes sense they might sell those eventually.
If you want to make kites, just download surfplan, it's even for free I think. But that would still not make the job easy or lucrative.
I would rather license an existing old kite design and then sell it cheap with some pro-active online marketing..
Still doesn't mean they make the best kites - no good swapping technology and licensing patented tech is their are better kites - or more suited kites out there. But yes you do have a point, a couple of main players with some boutique brands out there is a possibility.
anyone else notice this is about bars and bindings NOT kite design so therefore everyone above apart from jack is pretty much irrelevant?
