Some of my speakers, even some of the better ones, are just an Eminence or JBL driver is a box. Now I don't want you guys to copy 'em, but then again, it's kind of hard for me to claim ownership of an implementation. An example is a JBL 2226 in a 4.0ft3 box tuned to 40Hz. Can I really claim that as a protected design and jump other people for making it?

Now it does have a good crossover, something I'm proud of as being original. But even it is pretty simple, made using only a dozen parts or so, hardly something I can consider as trade secret stuff. I take advantage of the information by promoting it, actually opening the books to give myself some exposure. I guess one could say I'm free to do that 'cause it's my stuff. I could have kept tight lipped and that was my choice. But my point is, where's the line?

I can make another example of something I consider a little more unique, the π cornerhorn design. It is an implementation I'm particularly proud of, and I think it is a novel idea. But even it is just a good application of exising technologies, basically just pointing the woofer into a room corner and letting the walls set directivity and give 9dB DI. Stick a midhorn and tweeter on top with the same 90º radiation angle so that directivity is constant all the way through the audio band. It's a great idea and I'm rather possessive of it. But it is still a pretty simple concept.

Look at the loudspeaker cooling plug I developed. I'm proud of it too, some pretty big names looked at what I did. When I announced the project, one respected speaker designer bragged about his patents on loudspeaker cooling. He said the majority of heat was not radiated and was best carried away through the air. Turns out he didn't know what he was talking about, radiation is the main way heat leaves the voice coil. So I'm very proud of my heat exchanger concept, and that I took the time prototyping and proving it. But once it became a reality and everyone could see how much it boosted performance, immediately, everyone started copying it.

DIY'ers will always copy stuff, and by embracing them instead of chastizing them, I gain some exposure and goodwill. Maybe by making my products attractively priced, people will do business with me instead of going elsewhere. Maybe knowing I've taken the trouble to perfect my designs also acts as an incentive to do business with me. Customers can have confidence that the R&D is good and my products work well, and they won't have to reinvent the wheel or deal with an unknown quantity. But still, my designs aren't patented and I'm not sure they should be. So that leaves me in a bit of a pickle. How far do my rights extend?