WAXFAX PODCAST

The Battle for “All Temperature” — Trademarks, Innovation, and the Fight for Survival

Welcome to WAXFAX…
where the stories behind ski and snowboard innovation finally get told.

Today’s episode is not just about wax.

It is about invention.
Intellectual property.
Corporate power.
And the battle over one of the most recognized phrases in ski and snowboard history:

“All Temperature.”

For most riders, those words sound simple.

But behind them is a fight that has lasted for decades.

The Beginning — 1974

Back in 1974, Terry Hertel introduced something that challenged the entire ski wax industry:
the concept of All Temperature ski and snowboard wax.

At the time, skiers were trapped inside complicated wax systems:

• Blue wax
• Red wax
• Yellow wax
• Constant temperature guessing
• Endless rewaxing

Hertel believed there had to be a better way.

The goal was simple:
create a wax system that adapted across changing snow conditions while improving glide, control, and consistency.

That idea became the foundation for:
“All Temperature Ski and Snowboard Wax.”

And over time, it became one of the most recognized phrases in the industry.

Then the Copying Started

As the All Temperature concept gained recognition, more and more companies began using similar language:

• All Temp
• All Temperature
• Universal Temp
• Universal Wax
• One Wax

According to Hertel, many companies adopted the terminology not because they invented the technology, but because consumers already trusted the concept.

The problem?

To Hertel, “All Temperature” was never meant to be generic marketing language.

It represented a specific engineered performance system developed over decades of testing and real-world use.

The Intellectual Property Fight

For years, Hertel has fought to defend trademarks connected to:

• All Temperature Snowboard Wax
• All Temp
• HotSauce
• Rub N Go
• Other Hertel intellectual property

The argument is simple:
if innovators cannot protect what they create, large companies can simply absorb, imitate, and overpower independent inventors through scale and distribution.

According to Hertel, that is exactly what happened inside the ski wax industry.

The Amazon Problem

But the fight changed dramatically with online marketplaces.

According to Terry Hertel, one of the biggest challenges today is enforcement on massive ecommerce platforms like Amazon.

Hertel claims that despite owning U.S. trademarks connected to All Temperature snowboard wax technology, many competing sellers continue using similar terms, keywords, backend phrases, and marketing language that create confusion for consumers.

The frustration?

Large platforms often move slowly, inconsistently, or not at all when smaller companies report intellectual property violations.

According to Hertel, independent American inventors face an uphill battle trying to defend trademarks against:

• large competitors
• offshore sellers
• copied listings
• manipulated keywords
• mass-volume ecommerce systems

The result is a growing feeling among many small inventors that intellectual property laws are not being properly enforced in the modern digital marketplace.

Why It Matters

Some people may ask:
“Why fight so hard over words?”

Because words matter in business.

Especially when those words represent:

• decades of engineering
• consumer trust
• product identity
• reputation
• innovation
• brand recognition

To Hertel, “All Temperature” is not just a phrase.

It represents over 55 years of product development, racing history, testing, customer experience, and industry impact.

The Bigger Story — Independent Innovation

At its core, this is not just a ski wax story.

It is the story of independent American innovation competing against massive global systems.

A small inventor creates something new.

The market responds.

The idea spreads.

Then larger companies move in.

That cycle has repeated itself across countless industries.

But modern social media is changing the balance.

Today, inventors can finally speak directly to consumers without relying entirely on:

• magazines
• trade organizations
• dealer networks
• corporate gatekeepers

And according to Hertel, that direct connection is helping consumers hear the other side of the story for the first time.

The Legacy Continues

More than five decades after the original All Temperature concept was introduced, the battle continues.

Not just over ski wax.

But over:

• ownership
• innovation
• recognition
• intellectual property
• and the right of independent inventors to survive in a world dominated by giant corporations and digital marketplaces.

Whether people agree or disagree, one thing is certain:

The conversation is no longer hidden behind closed doors.

This has been WAXFAX.

The stories behind the speed.