...a patent...

Yep, those are the rules of the game. If you don't like it, don't go into design work! Instead, improve the human condition by writing trashy novels and jingles for commercials, creative endeavors that can be legally protected for over a century. :)

I think that it is a way of improving the state of the art and a compliment to the person/people who came up with it.

If we took the view that a designer should never do something if it had already been done by someone else, there would only be one make of bicycle and one make of car etc.

That was my point. I'm sure most of us have different views of what constitutes "copying", but apparently my view is far more liberal than some others' here.

Much as I love my Brompton bikes, I'm treating them just like any business. If they want to stay ahead, they'd best be thinking out of the box now.

I doubt many of their potential customers will care about 'business ethics' if Dahon starts offering quality half-priced Brompton clones. After all, they have the manufacturing capability, marketing clout and customer base to make it happen.

And maybe that might be a win for all of us if Brompton really starts innovating again like it did when Andrew Ritchie first introduced that amazing fold.

I actually think the Curl is an improvement on the original Brompton design. It remains to be seen if the entire package will be as strong as, or have the total longevity, of a Brommie. I personally think it looks innovative,...but that IMO,...YMMV. ;)

It doesn't address the aspects which, for me, would could be substantially improved.

Jur, why don't we design a proper version?

Is the Curl in any danger of actually being produced any time soon?

When I was taking design classes, it was drilled into my head that design is only half the battle -- the other half is getting it into production and making as many as fast as you can before someone else comes along and copies your idea, cheaper. Contending a design copy is also dependent on one's ability to devote resources to litigation...

Dahon has R&D money and time into developing their design of the Curl, along with many other models. Knowing they will be copied, they continuously improve their line. Brompton seems to be continually refining their line, but I don't seem them doing the same level of R&D Dahon does...

I find it significant that Dahon wasn't able to make their initial attempt work. The S-shaped top tube was an attempt to get a compact fold without using the characteristic Brompton humpback tube. The slightly sideways fold-under is already used by Birdy. Then we have the Bike Friday fold-under which is more like the Birdy but further forwards yo put the back wheel next to the front, the front not being folded. So there we have the 4 main cases. Dahon could not find a way to make their idea work; their final attempt had the front planetary geared crankset. So that's why I find it significant that they finally adopted the hump-back top tube.

Dahon already have a huge market penetration; this is a customer grab, no mistake. It is blazingly obvious, and you can continue on about improvements, innovation etc, but that doesn't cover a plain old customer grab. I actually would not be surprised if Brompton have evaluated their legal options to this undisguised copy-and-grab.

Dahon innovated all these years ago with their sideways fold; there is no significant innovation here, just some minor tweaks.

I can't disagree it's not a customer grab, but this is business. For all we know, Dahon is running out of innovative ideas, and so is turning to what many consider the finest fold in the business. IMO they would be silly not to, and IMO again, everyone but Brompton (and Brompton resellers) might be better off for it.

There's only so many times one can reinvent the three-wheel car before they realize a four-wheel car is the way to go.

If you look at Dr. Hon's 1983 patent, you see a sideways fold, collapsing seat post and folding handle post. You also see the Terns, Downtubes, Citizens, Origamis, Oyamas, Melons, Giants and maybe three dozen other folding bike brands of today - no significant innovation, just minor tweaks. In some cases, companies build dimensional copies of Dahon's bikes, saving those companies market research, engineering, prototyping, testing and marketing.

Welcome to the real world where the big boys play for keeps.

...went back to their hotel room in Friedrichshafen and drank late into the night. ;)

Despite the video @ Eurobike, given the history of this model, I'll believe it when I see one riding down the street!

I'd luv to be the first person riding it in a YouTube video then,... :)

Maybe, maybe not. However, Soichiro Honda used to send his new engineers to museums, looking for good ideas that weren't properly or fully implemented. The Honda Super Cub, still in production after 57 years with 85,000,000+ built? It's based on the now forgotten Moto Guzzi Galletto which Mr. Honda 'discovered' on his European trip in the mid-1950s.

You run into sometimes complicated definitions of 'the best', 'the finest' or even 'couldn't make it work'. Still, despite genuinely enthusiastic fans of the bikes, one has to note that no other company seems to be copying the folds of Mobiky, BigFish, Strida...