I just got an email from Drop.com on their 10th anniversary plans and one of the bullets was the following:
4. We’re keeping a low profile, but we’re also making a big announcement. In just a few days, we’re revealing information on our all-new, meticulously designed MT2 keycap profile. Preorders are going live at the end of the month—so stay tuned to get your hands on an exclusive look and feel.
Any guesses as to what MT2 might be? Here are my guesses: 1 - Row5, uniform profile version of MT3. 2 - Lower profile version of MT3, like cherry height, but with same cylindrical design on the top of the keys.
I googled all I could, but see no other references to MT2 profile, so they must be pretty hush hush about it…
I hope that means MT3 will become a free agent now.
I don’t know what the arrangement between Drop and MT3 is. Whether it’s IP they purchased from Matt3o, or that he’s signed some sort of agreement giving them exclusive use of it. If it’s the former, then they really can do whatever they want. However, the latter case makes Drop look all slimy again.
We know how Drop’s contracts go from the Input Club halo switch disaster. There’s no doubt that Drop owns the MT3 line 100%.
We got some lovely keycaps out of it. We got some stinkers, too. I just feel bad for Matt3o. Seems to happen over and over with Drop. I guess it’s the money element that tends to ruin all the fun.
Mostly the latter afaik. He designed the profile, and they bankrolled the molds, prototypes, and production in exchanged for exclusivity rights. I don’t know if money changed hands in all this however. I do know Drop is easily out 50k+ there in R&D
Is it really that hard for them to go about things in a basically decent manner? It’s not like consulting with matt3o would cut into their profits - if anything it would have given them some more clout - this of course having the opposite effect.
I genuinely would like to understand; it seems like there are people working there that care and are in it for the right reasons, they’ve even improved customer service and have been better about communication… but then they go and take a dump on the head of the guy who designed half of their cool exclusive stuff.
No doubt. Still… I think they could be raking it in plenty without doing stuff like this.
I mean - it’s not that hard to write an email. “Hey matt3o - we had this cool idea! What if MT3, but shorter? You down to qc and endorse some colorways?” Obviously it would be a hair more complicated than that… but not significantly. They make good stuff that I really want to like but man do they make it hard.
On the assumption that MT2 will simply be shorter MT3 (instead of being completely different), I still don’t see why matt30 would need to be consulted.
When you agree to design a product for a company, you don’t typically own it anymore. If you agreed that you do not have the rights to it, then you shouldn’t feel entitled to it. I think Drop is well within their right to make a derivative of a product they own unless it actually violates their contract in some way.
This looks like shit stirring simply because it’s Drop
Whether he designed it initially for them or not is irrelevant. The question is simply how they decided to handle the rights to the design. Unless either party decides to share the contract, we don’t know.
Personally, I find it hard to believe that Drop would spend tens of thousands on a manufacturing line for a main product without having all rights, control, etc for the design.
Honestly, we shouldn’t even take a stance for or against any party when we simply do not have the facts.
Edit: your comment only had the first sentence when I responded. I simply disagree he is owed anything in advance because if it is no longer his
