Thanks for the image. I think we've all run into that guy sometime.
Back to the question: my view is that originality of programs may be a concern for CA judges, but shouldn't be one for anyone else in FIRST. Even for the judges, the impact of a team's program should always outweigh its originality.
As Dave says, steal from the best ...
[Aside: I don't mind confessing that my team borrowed a
good idea from MOE this summer. Our interpretation of their one-day VEX event was very well received here in St. Louis. My recommendation to teams that want to duplicate a program: pick a good one, like we did.]
__________________
Richard Wallace
Mentor since 2011 for FRC 3620 Average Joes (St. Joseph, Michigan)
Mentor 2002-10 for FRC 931 Perpetual Chaos (St. Louis, Missouri)
since 2003
I believe in intuition and inspiration. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.
(Cosmic Religion : With Other Opinions and Aphorisms (1931) by Albert Einstein, p. 97)