Earlier quoted context omitted.
I see it the other way; What's the point of designing something that is affordable and usable by everyone if Amazon is just going to rip off the design and market theirs over me? Whats the point in making a budget ketchup brand if Safeway has their own? I can't compete with their margins there especially with that level of competition. I give a bit of a pass here to kirkland stuff cuz it never feels like a race to th…
Patents and trademarks exist to give designers the ability to reap profits from their creations. If you are not able to patent your design, then either the patent system is not working or whatever was designed or trademarked is not very valuable.
The patent system is probably fine, it's the COST of going after Amazon. They'll bury you. If you're a small studio that makes maybe 200-300k of revenue a year, how are you supposed to go after Amazon?