An ethical question

[Race #21]

Re: An ethical question

If there's one thing in English that drives me nuts, it's when people pluralize individuals...."Your John Sandbergs, Zeuschels..." I thought those were single people.

John

They are "Leading edge" and therefore (and thank God) plural.
Tom Campau

[MarkB.]

Re: An ethical question

Eric,

I too have enjoyed your posts over the years and wondered where you've been. I'm glad you're back.

My suggestion is something which I have not seen in the other posts but which you and some of the other creative types who post on the board need to consider:

Get an Lawyer.

A real-live, no-kidding lawyer to advise you on business entity formation, intellectual property questions, contracts, air-tight non-compete and non-disclosure agreements, etc.. Not a document package from Office Depot but someone who'll take the time to listed to what's going on with you and your business. Not necessarily a big high-dollar firm but a good lawyer who works hard for you. Ask around until you find what you need. You need to hit it off and have a sense of trust. If you don't have that feeling, keep looking.

No one likes to pay a lawyer. Are lawyers a pain? Yes, until you need one. Your post drives home the point -- lawyers can be expensive but how much more expensive is it when you need one and don't have one? How much would your speed mod be worth if you had sole marketing rights? Would have been worth it to pay a lawyer to protect it? Could a lawyer have prevented what happened to you? Absolutely.

A lot of people think they can do business without involving a lawyer. Really? You might do just fine, but eventually somebody's going to do something to you that requires legal counsel, then where will you be? Was that biz law course in college enough? Of course not. Otherwise, law school wouldn't be three years of hard work. It is not a coincidence that big, successful, aerospace industry companies have lawyers on staff or in some cases running the company. There is no more cutthroat industry in the world.

As others eluded to, your post involves not only ethics but substantial legal issues. A good lawyer would help you recognize both. Eric, as some friendly advice from a fellow air race lover -- find yourself an attorney.

[Apteryx]

Re: An ethical question

Eric, Get an Lawyer.

Eric-
Ditto that, the concept of adding a fairing, here or there is hardly a unique idea, it's been going on for decades. You're specializing in specifc applications, and unless someone is copying a VERY unique and distinguisable feature, I think you're dancing on thin ice.
An article is not a bad idea, but I would think that would scare off potential clients.
Produce a product, or create a contract with verifiable speed increase clause, (tough part here, think lap times would be one of the few ways to quantify a change), and I think you'd be on more solid ground.
Find someone doing a video on air racing, and offer to do a segment on what makes some airplanes faster then others; I would think that would generate some positive results, or create your own video "How to make your airplane faster".
Any way good to have you back, keep carving & scratching....Paul