[ptack]

I think the basic thing is that it's naïve to think that examining and recording competing products at a trade show isn't a standard and even expected practice - it is. What companies do with that information is a different issue. Chinese companies are rampant in their willingness to just steal intellectual property and the lack of a real legal system there makes it aggravating. By the same token, it seems unlikely they will ever be originators which is ultimately where the greatest gains are made.