Should Puma be required to share its super shoe technology?

Lol rojo

Did Nike share?
No, nothing says Puma should share. Good for them for having the best shoe out there right now.

This. I believed Nike should have been required to share but they weren't. Why should Puma have to share?

Have you heard of patents?

To follow Rojo's idea is almost a sure way to be wrong :)

I agree, they shouldn't have to share, but here's a hypothetical: what if company X comes out with new technology that gains 10% running economy over all the others, meets the current supershoe guidelines for competition, and none of the other companies can figure out the tech. Is it a fair advantage? Should the competition guidelines be changed to ban the shoe because running economy gain exceeds a specific limit?

Also, what if the top 50 pro-runners wear the shoes, only 15 of them get the 10% gain in running economy over all other shoes and the other 35 runners get no gain. The other 35 runners might as well hang it up if the shoes are allowed.

Agreed. In a competitive market (like running shoes) tipping the balance to (or away) from firms in search of “fairness” only drives innovation down (and prices up.)

Patents, uh, let's see. Yeah. I have. I thought that it was fine if Nike didn't share the patent but in that case the shoe should have been banned from competition.

they can all buy each other's shoes and cut them in half.

they all have their own foam. they all have carbon.

in what way do the patents limit copying among the shoe companies here?

why share? everyone can buy one and analyse what they are made of.

It's making a mockery of the sport, we don't know who the best athlete is anymore.

methinks you answered your own question

I think Robert is an idiot and Puma isn’t forced to share anything.

Absolutely not. When a company innovates they keep to benefit from the innovation. It's no different than an engineering company finding a better process and using it to their advantage.

No, there isn't a need. Other companies probably started reverse engineering the puma shoe the day it hit the market. They'll have their own version if they determine it will make them money.

If a chemical company comes out with a better chemical, let's say solvent, that does a better job cleaning while being less toxic. Do they have to share because it isn't "fair" that theor competitors can't compete with a better product? Of course not.

Athletic technology shouldn't be treated differently.

You're falling for the PR.

I'm not sure how a 5 minute economy test is relevant to marathon performance. Mechanics tend to change quite a lot from the first 5 minutes to the last in a marathon.

I'm also skeptical of the results, given that the Fast-R 2 performed very well in the test, and that is possibly the worst super-shoe I've ever worn.

Pretty weak analogy. I'd think most fans want the best athlete to win because of their individual superiority - not their shoe's superiority.

”Sleek, vigilant puma, principal of the mountains!”