I can see both sides of the argument. On the other hand, does that mean that the first person to make the basic rebuildable atomizer own the patent to the whole shit and shebang? This isn't a slam against any artists out there, it's looking at it objectively. You have a 510 connection that's become pretty much agreed upon as the industry standard. The tank can be round or square, not much you can do with it. It's going to have a metal base, consisting of a positive and negative terminal (as setup via the 510 pin arrangement). A tank to hold juice if chosen (tank vs rda top cap) which can be metal, glass or plastic. A hole to fill it. Holes for airflow. A mouthpiece to suck the vapors from.
Now, how much variation can there really be? There's only so much you can do with it, same with a car. A box on 4 wheels, engine, transmission, steering wheel, engine in the front, middle or rear - they don't really vary greatly from one to another. That said 'authentics' are often way overpriced. I know artists take great pride but this isn't the mona lisa. It's machining, did they hand craft each thread or by chance are they generic sized threads used by just about every metal to metal threaded connection in existence? If I use a an m3 thread vs m4 I'm not suddenly davinci, just sayin'. It's a lot like Michelin bitching at Goodyear because they both make round tires, what the hell else shape are they going to be?
These original atty designers I notice aren't pairing their tanks with factory tinted glass, specialty shapes, it's not handblown. It's the same tube shaped piece of glass everyone else uses. It's not discrediting the authentics but pointing out some obvious shit such as the wheel analogy. What other shape are they going to make it and how original can one get? There's only so much variation. One isn't clearly superior to the other highlighted by the fact that different strokes for different folks, some like genny's, some like squonks, some like velocity decks, some like .. so yea. Superior is as subjective as juice flavor.
Outside of the software and maybe the quality of the camera there's not a whole lot of difference between smart phones either. Iphone, samsung, lg, huwei, motorola, they're all flat rectangles with a touch screen, a charging/data port, buttons on the front, buttons on the side, battery in the back. Swipe to navigate. They all take pics, vids, access the interwebs, have 'apps'.. it's just the way it is. Competition is fierce, that's the way of the world. I'd venture there's just as much competition if not more from other authentic devices than from clones.
No I don't think ripping people off is fair in any market but there has to be some leeway or there would never be any competition. No choice in any product in the consumer world, 1 stove, 1 refrigerator and so on. When so many things are similar it comes down to quality, price and value. At the same time it's foolish to suggest that without the originals there would be nothing new. So I take it if high end cars like ferrari, cadillac and mercedes went tits up tomorrow there would be no chevy, no ford, no mazda, no nissan, no honda - bullshit. Where there's a need there will always be someone to fill the void.
If any manufacturer/designer wants their item to be viewed as 'art' then by all means, but put some originality and craftsmanship into it. Handblow that glass, hand mill the parts, do something that's actually original. Don't just rip 2x4's from a tree trunk like the faceless sawmills do for Home Depot and call yourself Andre Roubo. Companies like Rolls Royce set themselves apart for that very reason, their leather is hand stitched, custom fitted, hand built, not pumped out of a factory like a Ford Focus. The fit and finish are superb, the quality of materials is premium, they use genuine wood accents rather than plastic.
