[Ian Curtis]

It will result in copy cats, but chances are, the copys won't live up the originals. If 1114 fields a design, chances are it has gone through extensive building and testing. Sure team 1234 might see it, but if they lack the experience and mechanical genius of 1114, they probably won't be able to produce a replica that works well. I do feel however that this rule will lead to a more even game, not because 1234 will copy 1114, but becuase 9999, will see 1114's design and say, "Hmmm, I bet we can take this concept further" and base upon it an even better design.

I know in FLL, when we went to Nationals/Championships/Whatever-they're-called-nowadays we certainly upgraded our robot based on ideas of what we had seen other teams do. But we never copied anyone.

I'd go as far to say it's harder to copy someone piece for piece than it is to say, "Hey! 1114 used geared down motors and a few sets of tank tread to build their collector. I wonder if we can do it?" Chances are your design won't look similar to 1114's but it will probably work pretty decently.