Tydan Blades to cease wholesale sales

[Vet88 674]

They wont show up but... If it works anything like our law, you get a judgement in local court for infringement and then get customs to help enforce it, ergo no product can enter the country. Going after them in China is next to impossible but stopping their product coming over the border has some limited chance of success, at least publicly. Then you can also start notifying in country resellers that they cant sell the product, now you begin to hurt the sales and that is about as good as you can get unless you have really deep pockets and some serious clout with the state apparatus in China.

[BenBreeg 493]

If there is any kind of scale, here could be US (or Canadian)arms of the company, distributors, retailers, etc.  there are already legal mechanisms in place to allow them to sell, those can be leveraged.  The US is number one in the world wrt IP law, it is a key component in the trade war with China, it’s not something companies just can ignore.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

But yet it took 5 years to shut down the others. And some are still operating.  I'd bet if they kept operating on a small scale such as just retail sales and werent massive on advertising flying low would be pretty easy. 

Let's look at who got shut down? Step largest pro dealer in the world.  

Tydan largest advertiser on the market. 

The rest... still operating for now. 

 

 

[BenBreeg 493]

Yeah, it’s always a cost/reward thing.  Some companies are very aggressive in defense of their IP, others aren’t.  Some have a very developed IP strategy, others don’t.  Sometimes a smaller company doesn’t have the resources to take the fight to bigger companies.  I have worked in various situations with respect to how IP was handled.  And if it went to litigation it generally always took a long time because lawyers, which to be fair were just doing their job.

[Miller55 333]

It's a shame because Bauer could probably just make a better product and avoid this whole thing. At the end of the day, if the LS steel were up to snuff this would be a moot point. Bottom line, Bauer needs to make better runners.

 

I get that the trigger system is Bauer IP, but this whole thing, from my vantage point, just appears to be Bauer not wanting to up the ante and instead just squashing the competition. They brought this whole aftermarket runner thing on themselves. Obviously they have a right to protect their IP, but the issue here is less more about quality product. I'm not naive and I know it's business, but it's still a bit petty.

 

The last decade in my mind is just Bauer buying companies and suing companies. Imo they ruined Mission and ended Easton. I have a couple pairs of Bauer skates, but otherwise I have completely stopped buying Bauer. Once these new True retails come out I'll probably be done with Bauer entirely. /Of topic rant

[VegasHockey 1280]

43 minutes ago, Miller55 said:

It's a shame because Bauer could probably just make a better product and avoid this whole thing. At the end of the day, if the LS steel were up to snuff this would be a moot point. Bottom line, Bauer needs to make better runners.

 

I get that the trigger system is Bauer IP, but this whole thing, from my vantage point, just appears to be Bauer not wanting to up the ante and instead just squashing the competition. They brought this whole aftermarket runner thing on themselves. Obviously they have a right to protect their IP, but the issue here is less more about quality product. I'm not naive and I know it's business, but it's still a bit petty.

 

The last decade in my mind is just Bauer buying companies and suing companies. Imo they ruined Mission and ended Easton. I have a couple pairs of Bauer skates, but otherwise I have completely stopped buying Bauer. Once these new True retails come out I'll probably be done with Bauer entirely. /Of topic rant

Sometimes the easiest way to outperform the competition is to buy them, shut them down, and take/use whatever IP you find valuable. This happens in nearly every industry.

Bauer could easily buy Tydan or any other aftermarket steel company yet they don't seem to have any interest. IMO buying STEP would have been a VERY smart move for them and they really missed out there. Same with buying Tydan.... But who knows what they have planned. 

I will admit the new PulseTI blades are decent. The steel itself still isn't as nice as Tydan, STEP, Flare, or many others but it's tremendously better than the LS4/LS5 steel. 

I also have to applaud them for the partnership with Prosharp helping to educate the general consumer on profiling. 

[stick9 890]

5 minutes ago, Miller55 said:

It's a shame because Bauer could probably just make a better product and avoid this whole thing. At the end of the day, if the LS steel were up to snuff this would be a moot point. Bottom line, Bauer needs to make better runners.

 

I get that the trigger system is Bauer IP, but this whole thing, from my vantage point, just appears to be Bauer not wanting to up the ante and instead just squashing the competition. They brought this whole aftermarket runner thing on themselves. Obviously they have a right to protect their IP, but the issue here is less more about quality product. I'm not naive and I know it's business, but it's still a bit petty.

 

The last decade in my mind is just Bauer buying companies and suing companies. Imo they ruined Mission and ended Easton. I have a couple pairs of Bauer skates, but otherwise I have completely stopped buying Bauer. Once these new True retails come out I'll probably be done with Bauer entirely. /Of topic rant

Not wanting to up the ante? They are the only skate manufacturer putting R&D dollars into their runners. That's pretty ballsy, especially given the runner in their system is easily replaced. Other companies are banking on players either not knowing/caring what they skate on or are smart enough to know what to replace them with. 

Look at it this way. When you buy a higher end Bauer skate you are getting runners that are equal to if not better than the aftermarket guys. With CCM (prior to the acquisition of STEP) you were getting the absolute worst steel on the market. CCM didn't purchase STEP to simply offer a better product. They did it so STEP would no longer be available to Bauer or True, IE crushing the competition. 

FWIW, Easton and Mission, were already pretty well ruined when Bauer purchased them. 

[stick9 890]

10 minutes ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

Sometimes the easiest way to outperform the competition is to buy them, shut them down, and take/use whatever IP you find valuable. This happens in nearly every industry.

Bauer could easily buy Tydan or any other aftermarket steel company yet they don't seem to have any interest. IMO buying STEP would have been a VERY smart move for them and they really missed out there. Same with buying Tydan.... But who knows what they have planned. 

I will admit the new PulseTI blades are decent. The steel itself still isn't as nice as Tydan, STEP, Flare, or many others but it's tremendously better than the LS4/LS5 steel. 

I also have to applaud them for the partnership with Prosharp helping to educate the general consumer on profiling. 

Meh, I think they were already there. LS4, STEP ST and Tydan all played and sharpened about the same. LS5 is a marked improvement over the others. 

[Miller55 333]

11 minutes ago, SkateWorksPNW said:

Sometimes the easiest way to outperform the competition is to buy them, shut them down, and take/use whatever IP you find valuable. This happens in nearly every industry.

Bauer could easily buy Tydan or any other aftermarket steel company yet they don't seem to have any interest. IMO buying STEP would have been a VERY smart move for them and they really missed out there. Same with buying Tydan.... But who knows what they have planned. 

I will admit the new PulseTI blades are decent. The steel itself still isn't as nice as Tydan, STEP, Flare, or many others but it's tremendously better than the LS4/LS5 steel. 

I also have to applaud them for the partnership with Prosharp helping to educate the general consumer on profiling. 

I agree, if you have the money it's definitely the easiest way. Not the most respectable IMO. I'm not saying they're wrong or criminal, just that I'm not a fan of this type of stuff, and, by extension, I have become not a fan of Bauer. I think they should buy Tydan and source their steel that way, now that CCM bought STEP. And you're absolutely right, we don't know what's doing behind the scenes, they might very well be working on that. In fact, the lawsuit is very possibly part of the "negotiations," put the old gibash on them and then buy them for next to nothing. 

And that's exactly my point. I haven't seen the pulseTI yet, but the fact that it's still not as nice as the aftermarket stuff is ridiculous. Are you telling me Bauer doesn't have the money to source good steel? 

Look, most consumers don't have a clue about any of this and it doesn't really matter anyway. The pros will continue to get the products they like one way or another and everybody else will keep having fun in beer league with whatever steel is offered.

[Miller55 333]

28 minutes ago, stick9 said:

 

FWIW, Easton and Mission, were already pretty well ruined when Bauer purchased them. 

I happen to disagree. Mission definitely had a few bad years, but the last few years before the buyout were great IMO. And I still think that Easton's sticks from 10 years ago are better than Bauer today (although I have had a chance to try the adv yet, but still). The proof, I still play with stealth rs, cx and v9e. My apxs are gone, 1n is gone, 2x pros. You get the idea. Everyone had their preference and I'm definitely a bit salty that Bauer took away mine. They didn't even use Easton's tech afaik. And missions gloves were awesome. 

[Miller55 333]

Just now, Miller55 said:

I happen to disagree. Mission definitely had a few bad years, but the last few years before the buyout were great IMO. And I still think that Easton's sticks from 10 years ago are better than Bauer today (although I have not had a chance to try the adv yet, but still). The proof, I still play with stealth rs, cx and v9e. My apxs are gone, 1n is gone, 2x pros. Those sticks were trash, played ok but went soft in less than a season. You get the idea. Everyone had their preference and I'm definitely a bit salty that Bauer took away mine. They didn't even use Easton's tech afaik. And missions gloves were awesome. 

 

[stick9 890]

13 minutes ago, Miller55 said:

 The pros will continue to get the products they like one way or another and everybody else will keep having fun in beer league with whatever steel is offered.

Nope, no more STEP Edge in the NHL.

[Miller55 333]

Just now, stick9 said:

Nope, no more STEP Edge in the NHL.

Maybe without the branding. Not sure but I assume they'll figure something out

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

1 hour ago, Miller55 said:

Maybe without the branding. Not sure but I assume they'll figure something out

Why on Earth would CCM create unbranded steel for LS Edge?  

1 hour ago, Miller55 said:

I happen to disagree. Mission definitely had a few bad years, but the last few years before the buyout were great IMO. And I still think that Easton's sticks from 10 years ago are better than Bauer today (although I have had a chance to try the adv yet, but still). The proof, I still play with stealth rs, cx and v9e. My apxs are gone, 1n is gone, 2x pros. You get the idea. Everyone had their preference and I'm definitely a bit salty that Bauer took away mine. They didn't even use Easton's tech afaik. And missions gloves were awesome. 

Bauer bought Mission/Itech for IP, facial, baselayer and roller hockey.  Eliminating a competitor was also a bonus.  Mission ice's best days were pre-moving design to Montreal.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

2 hours ago, stick9 said:

Nope, no more STEP Edge in the NHL.

Actually I know one team that purchased 2 years worth of stock! LOL So ya Step in the Show for the nest 2 seasons. 

[Miller55 333]

1 hour ago, JR Boucicaut said:

Why on Earth would CCM create unbranded steel for LS Edge?  

Bauer bought Mission/Itech for IP, facial, baselayer and roller hockey.  Eliminating a competitor was also a bonus.  Mission ice's best days were pre-moving design to Montreal.

Obviously they wouldn't. My point is simply that the pros will still have access to that quality of steel. Obviously it won't be Step.

Facial? Not privy to the timeline of Mission ice design, but obviously there were some pretty great years all around. But I definitely preferred Mission roller pre 2009 to today's stuff. 

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

1 hour ago, oldtrainerguy28 said:

Actually I know one team that purchased 2 years worth of stock! LOL So ya Step in the Show for the nest 2 seasons. 

I believe teams stocked up; the post was “continue to get.”  That isn’t happening anymore. 

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

42 minutes ago, Miller55 said:

Obviously they wouldn't. My point is simply that the pros will still have access to that quality of steel. Obviously it won't be Step.

Facial? Not privy to the timeline of Mission ice design, but obviously there were some pretty great years all around. But I definitely preferred Mission roller pre 2009 to today's stuff. 

Half shields and Concept 2s. They purchased Mission-Itech Hockey. 

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

12 minutes ago, JR Boucicaut said:

I believe teams stocked up; the post was “continue to get.”  That isn’t happening anymore. 

ahhhhh missed that

[Miller55 333]

16 minutes ago, JR Boucicaut said:

Half shields and Concept 2s. They purchased Mission-Itech Hockey. 

Gotcha. 

[Vet88 674]

Seems Tydan got a cease and desist for ALL sales channels today from Bauer. No dealer, no web, no direct etc. Stock up now while you can. 

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

14 hours ago, Vet88 said:

Seems Tydan got a cease and desist for ALL sales channels today from Bauer. No dealer, no web, no direct etc. Stock up now while you can. 

Time to go to Byonic. Can't close them down. Sharpens the closest to Step in my opinion.  

[psulion22 402]

If Flare gets ordered to stop selling Edge steel, I'll have to switch to CCM holders on my Bauer skates.

[VegasHockey 1280]

2 minutes ago, psulion22 said:

If Flare gets ordered to stop selling Edge steel, I'll have to switch to CCM holders on my Bauer skates.

I think they are fine since they have their own separate patents. Bladetech is likely safe as well. 

That being said, I am doing more LS Edge holder to CCM XS holder swaps lately.

I wish/hope that CCM does not go the same route as Bauer, but they might, buying STEP was a significant cost and I am sure they are going to want to see a return on investment. 

Edited March 9, 2021 by PBH

[Miller55 333]

6 minutes ago, PBH said:

I think they are fine since they have their own separate patents. Bladetech is likely safe as well. 

That being said, I am doing more LS Edge holder to CCM XS holder swaps lately.

I wish/hope that CCM does not go the same route as Bauer, but they might, buying STEP was a significant cost and I am sure they are going to want to see a return on investment. 

I would have assumed that a large portion of those swaps to XS holders you're talking about were for the express prepare of using step. I'm sure some are using other steel, but I would expect most to use step...?