"As Seen On TV" companies accused of knocking off products made by small inventors

[@freedomfirst0421]

Also, the judges and government officials who let this litigation go on forever need to be called out. Several are given campaign donations from these companies. Owners of these companies need to be brought to public scrutiny.

[@Andy-im3kj]

They are tied with the CCP this is why when the day comes they will fall HARD.

[@tishsmiddy71]

Yes

[@Justaeuropeanman]

We love to call other countries corrupt when the USA is just as corrupt. The USA is just a lot better at hiding it

[@jacobperez8921]

Agreed! IP theft in America is sadly very common and is done mostly by foreign companies mainly Chinese government-owned or associated companies that can make cheap versions of a product and sell it in America on platforms such as Wish or Temu and they undercut smaller and local American competition.

[@TechieXP]

I wouldn't need the judge. I would would just call them. You're gonna give me 100% of the money you stole from me for stealing my product, or you're gonna wish you did. Problem solved. Apple is known for stealing peoples ideas like this. If you have an invention, don't sell it until you have the patent.

[@ABSG7]

I hate big companies who take advantage of small inventors

[@dentatusdentatus1592]

Tale as old as ti-.....business.

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

Good for you.

[@Tortilla.Reform]

@@MrWaterbugdesignWhy so weirdly bitter and combative?

[@moe47988]

No, the balloon guy had the kickstarter in place before he had the patent. Do you think the thieves would have mass produced this if it were patented? I don't think so.

[@justayoutuber1906]

You mean like Microsoft, Apple, and most of the Fortune 100?

[@bigcahuna42366]

The film "Flash of Genius" that starred Greg Kinnear back in 2008 addresses this same exact concern. It tells the story of a man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper motor in the 60s, but Ford stole his idea and claimed it as their own after he received the patent.

[@L337f33t]

The same thing happened to the ratcheting wrench guy too I believe with Sears Robuck

[@Mike__B]

Patents don't protect you, you are expected to protect yourself, a patent simply is "I win" card that you play if you do have the resources to take them to court. But the fact that you need those resources just to protect in court is another issue completely that needs fixing.

[@WeylandLabs]

Any patent lawyer would accept that for free ? Becuase its an auto win...

[@BoltRM]

​@@WeylandLabsUsually can't sue successfully for a patent, if companies are outside of the US. Takes a LOT of money & YEARS of your life. Trademarks or copyrights are the most efficient way of protecting. Unfortunately, for trademarks you have to show you actively pursue those who infringe or you lose the trademark, which also costs money.

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

I was an inventor and agree patents aren't protection. I never filed for a patent because it wasn't worth the effort, time or cost. The only time I filed patents was when the company I was working for wanted a bunch of patents as assets. They could roll them out to impress investors for example. They were also used to add value to the company. A large company like Microsoft will have stacks of patents. Then if they have some legal or marketing problem they could look thru their patents to see if there were any that could be used as leverage. For example they implement a product that has some feature similar to another company's invention and they get sued. As a defense Microsoft finds some patents that might protect the feature or covers some feature the other company had and they threaten to sue. They end up trading patents or licensing. Which strangely adds protection from being sued from yet other companies because once companies are licensing things a court is likely to see that as ownership.

[@brentbeacham9691]

They said it was a family who does this. Did I miss what family is doing this?

[@kellychuang8373]

Oh yeah that's really something to think about.

[@JasonB808]

Thanks for sharing this. Please share this with others. We need to boycot As Seen on TV. They will eventually change their names. We need to build a database of products and who actually created so that we can support the inventors not the copy cats.

[@ReinKayomi]

ASOT is just some logo, not a company

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

I don't think KZbin comments will start a boycott. As Seen on TV can also be a place for an inventor to sell a product. Any inventor with a little experience understands the market, the risks. An inventor's first product can be a learning experience.

[@Steve.._.]

​@@MrWaterbugdesignso you didn't comprehend what they are doing? 😂 They aren't being given inventions to sell. They are MAKING A COPY. And selling that. The person who created it gets nothing. 😂

[@Steve.._.]

​@@ReinKayomiyes but they literally read out the names of the only two companies that create products under the as seen on TV tag. Pay attention

[@davidlloyd1526]

I don't think that anything that "Seen On TV" knocked-off is novel enough to be patented. Sure sitting around copying Kickstarter ideas is scummy... but the Kickstart ideas usually aren't original to start with. A tablet computer stand? Been done... A multi-head hosepipe? Been done...

[@andrewsherman2398]

If multiple lawsuits are brought against a company for the same reason judges should just shut the company down if a company is going to ignore patents and basically steal inventions from other people and make millions in profits then they should be forced out of business because the profits belong to someone else

[@psevenzoe]

intellectual property is not considered a criminal offense, but rather a civil offense

[@andrewsherman2398]

@@psevenzoe I didn't say that anyone should be thrown in prison a civil court judge has the authority to shut down a company it's called a cease and desist commerce order

[@johnbash-on-ger]

@@andrewsherman2398 That would be abused very badly!

[@andrewsherman2398]

@@johnbash-on-ger one word oversight

[@TruthOD]

@@psevenzoe If it is a criminal offense to make or distribute knock high end merchandise then this too should be a criminal offense imo

[@yamibakura21]

Amazon does this too. If you have an original product you sell on their platform, they will create something similar and call it one of their Amazon brands at a competitive price kicking the original creator of the product out of the platform.

[@longbeach225]

Yup. That is another lawsuit waiting to happen.

@@longbeach225sadly, they just don‘t straight up steal IP but rather change up things just a bit, but in a way it‘s already enough to not get a lawsuit like those LIDL knock-off groceries. This already was a problem years ago.

[@D.J.Trump2024MAGA]

sounds like a win for the consumer. More power to them.

[@route66minion]

How aggravating to have copycats rip people off like that. Thanks to this show I went to the Flippy store on Amazon and ordered the real thing.

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

It's not even just products. Most websites are duplicated and posted under another URL. I have a couple of hobby websites that were duplicated. Free content.

[@stevennagley3407]

Also stealing peoples photography to market their knock offs

[@Hashdollars]

You also have to not understand the economy, patents or business if you think a product like flipy wouldn’t be copy catted for way cheaper than the original product or design could be done for. Patented work so that I can make the same exact design but incorporate a handle as a fundamental part of my design and it’s an entirely new patent for a product that looks near identical. This is common sense

[@Tiptup300]

Amazon does the same exact thing with Amazon basics.

[@bebdaumon3948]

It's all companies. In the U.S.A American companies cheat and copy others. The Chinese and other Asian countries they are the real innovators. We just copy them and market it globally . Apple stole the power cord design that was used in a Japanese rice cooker. They patent it in the U.S.A even though it was patent in Japan and been in existence for years before apple did it. They all do it but most target the middle class and the poor. It's more comment to steal ideas from the middle class and the poor that don't have resources to take people to court.

[@afyrestorm]

Should push for major retailors to stop ordering and selling the As Seen on TV products in their stores. They are just as guilty in this!

[@cw-cw6nl]

As Seen on TV should lose the copyright/trademark to confirmed copycat products to the owners of the patent. At least that way, the patent holder can begin to make money off of their invention.

[@FireMadeFleshII]

I was always leery of the rate As Seen On TV would pump out products during the 2000s & 2010s. Something just seemed off. Stories like this always made me question organizations like InventHelp, too

[@kellychuang8373]

Really was something fishy there.

[@JW-mx3qg]

Corporations ought to be immediately suspend their business licenses over this kind of thing, then suit, then make an example for other corporations who are doing similar

[@istankimjong-unbutcantstan3398]

Of course that would suspend the money going into the pockets of the government that probably gets some sort of kick backs in a roundabout way.

[@Melissa0774]

There's no such thing as "business licenses."

[@ajspice]

But...but...what about profits? The CEO needs to renovate his three-year-old summer home.

[@ajspice]

​@@Melissa0774Yeah, I picked up on that too.

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

It's not so black and white. Many inventions aren't really that unique. I was an inventor and I got my ideas from other things. The line between ripping off another product and being "new" was never clear. For example, back millions of years ago I was creating Atari video games at a little company called Games by Apollo. After we had some games out we started getting letters (way before email) and some were ideas for new games. Yeah, cool we were always trying to come up with new ideas. Within just a couple weeks we got 2 letters from separate people about a game where a farmer is trying to stop animals from eating his crop. Both letters had drawn what the screen might look like and game play. The two were almost identical. Seems unlikely but the odds are actually pretty high that separate people invent the same produce without knowing about each other. If we implemented the farmer game who gets the credit? Do we have to license their idea? Pay them? It created a serious problem for us. We changed our policy and all letters not in printed business envelopes were returned to sender unopened. We could have a game already developed and in production and open a letter with the same basic game and we'd be at risk for being sued.

[@OopsThereItIs]

Someone needs to create an As Seen on TV Real Products site that sells from the original creator.

[@alotofmore]

Like QVC?

[@benproffitt5957]

Never send your invention to one of these invention companies that claim they will help you get started for a fee or small percentage. They WILL steal your invention if it’s worthy. Had it done to myself and there is no legal recourse. Read the fine print and make sure you patent it yourself first.

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

IMO they don't steal inventions. They make their money by "helping" the inventor get their product to market. Filing patents, marketing. IMO they are a rip off because almost all products they get aren't sellable. I was an inventor, mostly software. Later in my career I got a lot of calls from lawyers and marketing people who had some client, friend, family member who had an idea for a product and they wanted my advice. In every case so far the product was a money pit. No hope of being produced or making money. The inventors did not take the advice well. I also took on projects others had invented who I told I didn't think could be a success but if they wanted to pay to have me implement then sure. It was almost always the same set up. They'd paid some developers $80k (strangely, always $80k) and the product wasn't done, or it was a mess. The inventor had no software experience so had no idea who to hire or how to manage development. I'd be brought in to get the product done. I always was able to get the product done and that's only when the inventor found out no one wanted their product. Inexperienced inventors can be very stubborn which they need to be. But rational thought and reality is needed too. The invention companies make their money from the stubborn inventor who hasn't done any market research and been rational. Is that ripping them off? I don't think so. They do what they say they will do. They do file the patent and providing marketing. They're not the inventor's Mommy.

[@benproffitt5957]

@@MrWaterbugdesign well I know first hand they do. I submitted and three months later they were producing it and told me it was already patented. I had researched patent data base before I submitted. There was no patent. I researched after my denial letter and it was patented and patent date was after my submission. A little more research showed the same man who owns the patent company was the very one that claimed a patent. I’m sure different people may have different circumstances and dealings. Mine was just out and out theft.

[@kellychuang8373]

Really have my suspicions about these practices.

[@ADreamingTraveler]

Also never speak about your inventions publicly if you don't want the idea stolen. Like for example using social media to discuss an idea you have. It's easy to scrape things off the internet and companies steal your ideas if you don't safeguard them

[@benproffitt5957]

@@ADreamingTraveler good advice…

[@meleejones]

A boycott I can get behind

[@MogtheMad0422]

Indeed. To bad based on the views less than 1% of the country saw this so it literally won't do a damn thing.

[@breal7277]

So, never again buy products from these two companies and beware of the logo "As Seen on TV". This is criminal and those people should be in jail but we all now know about the two-tiered legal system in this country, one for the rich corporations and one for the poor.

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

No, there isn't. There just exist politicians and voters of those politicians who are INDIVIDUALLY PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE for arbitrarily choosing whom to prosecute, whom to defend.

[@davidlloyd1526]

None of these ideas are original, so I don't see how "As Seen on TV" is any more copying stuff than the people on Kickstarter. Anyone can make a pillow, anyone can make a hosepipe adaptor. The Government isn't going to kidnap you and put you in jail for it.

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

Yeah but this isn’t it.

[@AustynSN]

Simple solution. If a company undoubtedly and willingly infringes on patent, then the fine is 150% of all SALES +court and lawyer fees. Make it *SIGNIFICANTLY* more expensive to steal the idea than not.

[@MogtheMad0422]

Lmfao. Except most of the people who would pass that law recieve large "donations" from those corporations and are too busy parading nudes on the congressional floor to actually help Americans

[@eddyalvarenga]

DOJ should be there for the inventors and consumers and stop these companies from breaking the law.

[@MrWaterbugdesign]

The DOJ budget would have to be 100x. Plus you'd have to 100x judges and courtrooms. The products you see in stores, online, TV, etc... is maybe only 1% of inventions. 99% never make it that far yet may get ripped off either intentionally or pure chance. I've probably invented 200 things but only 16 have ever made to the point of being sold. I assume of the other 184 some have appeared in other products just by coincidence. No doubt heard the stories of Alexander Graham Bell and inventing the telephone. There were many people inventing basically the same thing at the same time. Bell just was able to get his into the market so he's the famous one who we generally say "invented the telephone". But plenty of drama about others inventing it first. The concept of an invention being a completely new idea is almost, maybe even never, true. Ideas are always built on the ideas of others.

[@jamesslick4790]

The DOJ would have ZERO jurisdiction in foreign countries.

[@justayoutuber1906]

It's not criminal - its civil

[@MogtheMad0422]

Well...being as half of our political body is trying to defund the DoJ. I wouldn't count on it.....don't expect law changes anytime either as we need to see Hunter Biden's nudes instead.

[@peteanddrake4242]

Years ago, Teva infringed on the Allegra patent and sold generic Allegra in retail. They made well over $1B in sales and destroyed Allegra as a brand before they were stopped by the FTC. The fine was $300M, but that had made over a billion--so it made good business sense to infringe the patent. Generic Allegra is sold to this day....the law DOES NOT protect intellectual property like it should.

[@davidlloyd1526]

Allegra was patented in 1979, so it would have expired in 1999. Obviously it's just a 20 cent pill, the $1Bn was just Allegra's patent charge.

[@jess_o]

Will somebody PLEASE think of the medical price gougers????????????

[@tiberianexcalibur]

There was one good thing about the infringement and that generic Allegra provided affordable medication for the people

[@RowletGod69]

Lol

[@cameronjournal]

I used to work in this space doing TV ads and let me tell you, we've know that the AS SEEN ON TV people were dirty for years. It's known in the industry.

[@armageddonready4071]

Say it isn’t so!!! Big businesses screwing over the little guy? I simply can’t believe it SARCASM

[@istankimjong-unbutcantstan3398]

Home of the brave, huh. Too cowardly too try to steal from someone big money that could sue the crap out of them. Have to take the proverbial candy from a baby and the government not criminalizing their theft so that the little one has no real recourse and can be bankrupt trying to fight it in civil court. Real brave of these big wigs and the government kissing their batutes

[@danielzhang1916]

I always thought there was something off about that company, not surprised they were stealing other people's work

[@TheSimba86]

and the funny thing is, those as seen on tv companies are VERY litigious when they see anyone selling copies of the stuff they copied from someone else. like a thief that gets mad someone stole the thing they stole from someone else

[@qfc1313]

Unnecessary Inventions.

[@thrif-teaannie7128]

Things like this have been going on for years. As a kid I invented a pet product for a school invention convention and my invention was stolen and is still in stores today. I remember being heartbroken when I saw my invention in stores I was so confused and hurt we where poor and didn't have money to go up against this mega brand.

[@gwenmloveskpopandmore]

Bruh I’m so sorry

[@banquetoftheleviathan1404]

You sure it was stolen and not just similar? I think there would have to be a direct line for that. Tho if i came up with an idea for a cool toy and someone else made it happen, id be appreciative. Cuz it was about the toy not money or credit.

[@TruthOD]

Sorry to hear this happened to you. It has happened to me more than once. It is just pure evil really because these large corporations who steal from the little guy could literally just BUY the invention from the actual inventor for less than the cost of defending in court!! It's demonic.

[@pepps1943]

🧢

[@joshmullins1087]

@@banquetoftheleviathan1404 this is the sentence of someone who has never had any struggle in their entire life. if you came up with an original idea with 7 billion people on the planet not being able to come up with you dont want credit? do you work for ontel

[@roachtoasties]

Nothing new here. For these companies, if they have to pay something to a patent holder in the end, it's just the cost of doing business. They'll just continue to do the same thing because they know most patent holders don't have the resources to go after companies making knock-offs. That, along with nobody is going to jail for this.

[@myothercarisadelorean8957]

So basically it's become unaffordable for a fair trial.

[@tsideas5541]

It also shouldn't cost so much to get a patent...

[@latyshal.2286]

Stronger laws to protect intellectual property and stiffer penalties for big companies that violate those laws are needed to protect inventors.

[@lenshibo]

Damn. I own one of the pillow pads. i use it literally every night and love it alot. Its a very cozy way to watch youtube at night. I had no idea it was a stolen idea, and now i feel awful about recommending it to people. Such a great idea and product and it feels so wrong that the original creator didnt get what was deserved for it

[@lsmmoore1]

Maybe you could recommend the original. The Flippy. That one is being sold.

[@lenshibo]

@@lsmmoore1 I will now that i know the pillow pads are stolen, I just feel bad that ive been a small part of making the pillow pad successful with word of mouth

[@sdqsdq6274]

lol, i mean just look at the design , its not even worth 30 bucks

[@lenshibo]

@@sdqsdq6274 It is to me. Again, i use it every night for the past half year and its done its job perfectly. Way better than apples "magic" cover garbage thing does for sure

[@lenshibo]

@@ImSo3vil89 Its value isnt the sum of its parts. yeah its just fabric and foam but its put together in such a way thats extremely useful to me. I don't have the tools or know how to make it for less than $30, so its worth $30 to me.

[@phuongha3113]

China does this to American companies all the time and never get sued.

[@vexusvexed]

If SHEIN and TEMU keep doing what they’re doing, they’re gonna end up with a ton of lawsuits. It’s no different than what’s happening in this news investigation. IP theft should absolutely be considered a crime.

[@MogtheMad0422]

No. Those are Chinese based companies. Laws (especially patent) work entirely different over there

[@saramations]

There’s always Chinese knockoffs and there’s nothing we can do about them.

The problem is that there‘s no way to deal with those platforms because while you could lawsuit them or their US divisions (well, if they have them), IP isn‘t respected in China. Neither can you block those sites or block packages because they will just open up a new company.

[@evarodriguezalequin5705]

If people wouldn’t buy from them. They wouldn’t have a business. They sell low and poor quality stuff.

[@viperx2617]

eh, its still happening today. Amazon does it for almost every product.

[@Jphilipson]

Copyright law has no teeth in the USA.

[@rayleigh8]

Don’t tell anybody about your product till you have patented it.

[@jess_o]

Now go after Amazon for doing the exact same thing to their supposed clients-now-competitors-on-their-platform

[@333Roulette]

As an inventor, this is an awesome video bringing these things to light!

[@sallydavidson4471]

How could IP infringement not be a crime?!

[@norapper6182]

You be surprised how many name brands products are knock offs of the originals 😂

[@MogtheMad0422]

​@@norapper6182 no joke. Practically everything is a rip off turned corporate printing machine.

[@thomasryan9754]

Misleading. Patent and trademark infringement is not covered by US federal criminal statutes but there are provisions for criminal copyright infringement.

[@derrickbeaubearic4100]

"IP infringement is not a crime" 🤦‍♂️

[@istankimjong-unbutcantstan3398]

I wonder how much money these corporations are "bribing" the government to keep it that way....

[@eblom366]

It's illegal to rip off IP, but puts you in civil court, not criminal court. Words mean different things to lawyers than they do to regular people.

[@walkkingdom2738]

My friend and I invented a skateboard on ice called 32 Below and sent it to a company and the following year, we saw our invention in a magazine. Is that just a coincidence! We actually sent ourselves a letter in the mail to prove the date of the invention but we never contested the situation and went on with our lives.

[@lilaznkid4ever]

Fight!!!

[@markmiranda3364]

Did you file a patent ? provisional patent? Copy Right?

[@gwenmloveskpopandmore]

Fighy

[@RussellNorris-jo7bi]

Its always the big companies stealing ideas from individuals and ripping them off this part of greed and corruption of people in this wicked world.

[@santamariamarvy]

NEVER GO PUBLIC WITH YOUR IDEA IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PATENT ON IT.

[@OddWoz]

This has been happening for a LONG time. “Are you an inventor? Let us help you!”

[@jasonlittleton79]

I was stolen from if u have ever seen the lizard flare .....that is my invention and the invention home never helped me pike they said they neglected my case and then my invention popped up everywhere as lizard flare I have proof

[@jasonlittleton79]

I would love your help

[@OddWoz]

@@jasonlittleton79 I’m sorry that happened to you, but my comment was just meant as mocking their commercials… I can’t offer any real help here. Seems your other comment was deleted, but I read it in my notifications. Hate to hear that was done to you personally. I always had deep concerns about those companies offering help with launching products just stealing from the small inventors. But I hope you can find someone to help you resolve it. Best of luck.

[@TheGobblersGetback]

This is disheartening….Laws, at least in the U.S., but preferably internationally, should make litigation easier for patented inventions to stay profiting for the original inventors only….What’s the incentive to invent if patents don’t 100% protect you, or you have to spend an enormous amount of money to fight for your invention?……..There needs to be a video data base patent system, that inventors can officially show themselves online with their invention, and receiving their patent. This is horrible.

[@Enrique-Garcia]

"I believed in the laws of the United States" Well there's your problem right there.

[@kkekang7]

The key is IP infringement is NOT a crime but a civil suit is the key as mentioned at the end. Civil suit for most is who has the deep pocket win.

[@timh6475]

GM Gayle, Natalie, and Nateand Nate!!! Great Story!!! 💖🐰💯

[@dirk7816]

AJ Khubani sells about a billion a year in products he steals from regular people trying to make it.

[@ocho27hd]

That’s my biggest fear of selling my invention(s) or ideas to a company only for them to say no then turn around and steel my idea. I have a couple of ideas that can revolutionize a product that we all use everyday but I have zero clue on how to do this without getting ripped off.

[@deadcell1]

Learn how to manufacture it yourself. There are tons of resources online on how to do this.

[@ocho27hd]

@@deadcell1 you’re right…thanks for the encouragement

[@randomworld4662]

​@@ocho27hdgo to China made it and come back

[@RR-ds4sd]

Unfortunately, you are out of luck. Even if you manage to produce it, the same thing will likely happen to you. Copyright nowadays comes down to whoever has the ability to steal an idea, and flood the market with the product before someone has time to do anything about it. It's been done with everything. Even Hollywood steals from Hollywood itself in the eyes of the crowd. If a billionaire industry is unable to protect itself, how can you dream about it? The world will probably have to live without your inventions.

[@jacobperez8921]

I mean there is no real way to stop others from stealing your invention even if your comes to market first.

[@lothean2099]

Why go for just some of the revenue. Go for all the revenue since they stole your idea. Thats the American way also.

[@CS-qc7np]

I have heard patent companies that are supposed to help investors, blow off the inventor after they tell the company the idea, and then the company patents the idea as their own.

[@jorndoff2002]

AJ Khubani has been doing this since way back when the thigh master was released and he knocked it off with the Thigh Magic.

[@kr02201985]

Sad. Such crimes should be treated a criminal and these companies should be in prison.

[@ritchiedee6210]

they should be putting them in jail if you get repeat offenses of ipo patent copying. PERIOD, it shouldnt just be civil it should have severe criminal penalties, and if across borders it should be considered economic terrorism. and fraud. they should make it so the person that buys the products from them can class action lawsuit them for selling knockoffs making there a potential that you would have to refund EVERY SINGLE CENT you made. pretty sure that would put an end to it.

[@chris135x]

Okay. FIRST? A "knock off" is something like buying shoes that LOOK like Nike but were put together in some Asian country to pass it off as a "legit" Nike shoe. Second. Why is it that too many people are SO QUICK to say "arrest and jail the person" but you REFUSE to ask questions like "why are people not getting the profits from their own inventions".

[@bartobruintjes7056]

Welcome in America. The country where scammers can do what they want.

[@thedarkenigma3834]

Land of the free.

[@itsumotanoshimi]

I don't understand, you steal from a shop and you're charged and possibly put in prison, but these companies are doing exactly that 'stealing' so why aren't they in prison or even the companies shut down...

[@jeanneratterman]

This is a much needed PSA. I had no idea. I thought the as seen was the original product. Now educated, i will share and not buy any other as seen or similar chicanery

[@MadDragon76]

Amazon does this every day.

[@chrislaws4785]

This is why you dont even see the "As seen on TV" brand items in Walmart anymore. The ONLY place i might still run into them are at like dollar stores or other cheap stores that dont sell name brand items.

[@krazykuz13cmc]

Wrong they are in cvs, rite aid, and walgreens and other stores.

[@alexcholagh8330]

They still sell as seen on tv in Wal-Mart's and sans clubs.

[@gwenmloveskpopandmore]

Nope wrong

[@bryce6870]

It's refreshing to not hear politics or drama but true investive work exposing these topics

[@loridyson569]

Those companies check to see if you have enough money to fight them when they steal your products.

[@supyoo207]

lmfaoo wasn't the CEO on a documentary complaining about china counterfeiting and how it affects "honest" companies.

[@paulw2872]

They rip off products. Jail..

[@isaaca.5553]

This is so disgusting and heartbreaking 💔

[@bmiller949]

I stopped watching TV in 2007 during the Great Recession and being out of work. I am so glad commercials are just wasted air time for someone like me.

[@rafaelnavarro5522]

They do their due diligence before releasing a product in other words they make sure any product idea they're stealing isn't copyrighted

[@EDC98]

Inventors with cool and unique ideas: "I poured my heart, soul and money into this! I'm living the dream!" 😎 ASOTV: "We're living your dream too!"

[@jormugand5578]

They conduct their own due diligence? Yeah on whether they can beat the actual inventor to the market and, more importantly, whether doing so can make them enough money to be worth the effort.

[@chickerd4928]

Why was the Flippy on QVC spelled with one p and then when they showed the other version it had two p’s?

[@YoUnOkNoWoK]

I always thought something was up with them! The prices are insane!

[@stevelozano9523]

This happened to me over a decade ago with a product I invented and paid to market by inventech. They marketed and said it didn't go anywhere. Then a short time later (maybe a year) I saw my product on the market by a big corporation which I won't say, but I couldn't afford to do anything about it while they surely made millions off of ioffsi depressing a little guy like myself can only do so much from theft of a product development.

[@xout1990]

I'm watching this on my pillow pad

[@winmancaboose]

We really don't have a fair legal system if you can just out spend the other party in court. For situations like this there should be a limit on how much of a difference in legal spending between parties can be made to make it more fair.

[@jacquesmertens3369]

The biggest mistake was to allow China into the WTO. The WTO rules are very clear: you can defend your patent in a country of your choice. China doesn't play by the rules though. If they copy your product they claim you need to settle the matter ... in a Chinese court. And yet no one has the guts to kick China out of the WTO. The inventors copied by the As Seen On TV companies are "lucky" in the sense that US companies were also involved.

[@TobyStahler-yp9ll]

So basically they're doing what Amazon does.

[@justayoutuber1906]

Amazon does this with their OWN brands. They are the worst offender.

[@micknightmare3]

Yeah I shared my idea with a guy from one of these invent help company but decided to do it myself and the product is out now. Be wary

[@iloveplayingpr]

They'll infringe on any invention they can, and draw out any lawsuits.

[@RobbyZander]

I noticed this a long time ago and wondered how they were allowed to do it.

[@jer1776]

This goes back to wealth inequality being the #1 issue in America. Those who have money for lawyers largely dont have to follow the law.

[@ernst91]

Thank you for covering this story.

[@scotter2087]

Walmart and walgreens and other major retailers need to be accountable for supporting this scammer.

[@raspade3136]

Making money off of someone else and not giving them their just dues. Scamers everywhere. The American way, smfh.

[@wombatdk]

Patents only protect those with deep pockets. For everyone else, filing for a patent simply guarantees you'll get ripped off. The system has been broken for a long time. Patent trolls and patent violators are as common as dirt, and successful enough to make millions of honest inventors.

[@fasthandsz]

Why is it taking this long for this to come out to light?

[@chris_modz2588]

Those people who taking their ideas need to be put in the ground

[@Sooxfarsbabymama]

We always used to make jokes like "Dont say it too loud you'll see it on tv tonight" but to know that granny was really preaching is so full circle rn.

[@killtrocity6857]

Amazon's does the same exact thing under Amazon's basics brand. And I don't see anyone's up and arms over it... América hypocrisy where they pick and choose of went to be outrage..

[@HughJass-313]

Well, to be fair... The Small Business Folks *who AMAZON Ripped off* were up in arms.

[@winthropbaker5494]

They have horrible products...cheaply made at best

[@ajspice]

So Telebrands is obviously skimming Kickstarter on ripping off easy to make products. That's shady AF.

[@dedgzus6808]

This has been happening for decades.

[@joshnizzle]

This crap happens all the time my family handmade decorative signs since 1995 and did lots of business until we had our exact designs stolen. trademark and copyright does not protect you. Huge companies can change the slightest little thing and are allowed to sell legally!

[@GolDRoger-fx2fp]

They think their punishment is just a piece of cake. Make punishment traumatized the violators by making punishment more severe.

[@spokesperson_usa]

I'm extremely impressed small inventors haven't had their entire family shot to death by police for USA violations.

[@jennifer_mertens]

Big companies know that small inventors don't have the money to sue them. It's disgusting and so sad. Where are the government departments that can help these inventors? There has to be some recourse for these inventors. They put their heart and soul into their products and it is devastating when a larger company steals their ideas. It's usually their whole lives and a large company just steals their idea.

[@Sneakycastro69]

Reminds me of horrible bosses 2 , you can’t trust these big companies.

[@mangakey]

Company should be shut down and banned from American stores. How can a company whole business model be stealing people ideas then beating them to market and not be shut down??? I understand if they just x1-2 times but it really seems to be their whole business model... and as long as they have money to pay off lawsuits while still being profitable there seems to be no issue... That just shouldn't be...

[@specialagentorange4329]

They have been doing this for decades.

[@LacyyGerelli]

My son loves his flippy!

[@iashakezula]

Good for him, it took 4 years .Those companies should go down. I think that law should be updated.