So I've been thinking about how the ski industry works lately, specifically about how a ski is designed and is put into production. First, I imagine there is the issue of patents. Edges, bases, and possibly certain types of manufacturing techniques are licensed by select companies. These are chosen with performance goals of the ski in mind and there is room for originality in material selection and layer-by-layer construction. In the end a LOT of effort and money must go into making a new ski even if doesn't differ much from other models. Perhaps just the design licenses alone take up most of the budget for a new ski. This is why companies just starting up might pay the license fee to use another company's design for the first year or two.
The question I have is about research and development. I'm sure all companies have this to some extent, but, other than trying different prototypes out on the hill, I doubt some of the smaller companies are making designs that will be licensed out to others. It could be a big risk for a company to stray to far from tried and tested parts of ski design. So, which ski companies have the bigger R&D departments? Are there some companies that don't even make skis, but have a large influence on the industry with patents? I ask this because I'm thinking of applying for a co-op job in this area and I still don't really understand where all this technology comes from. Thanks.
TL;DR Which ski companies have big cutting edge research and development departments? Are there some companies that do R&D, license their technology out, and don't even make skis?
