New Olympic events.

Or is it more like the Behtwaite model where builder-vendors are licensed and can compete on price (in theory)?

It would seem even if Luca and Devoti go down the Bethwaite route then there is a conflict of interest where they are choosing who will compete against them in a duopoly.

I'm still unclear whether Luca's legal intervention is aimed getting the laser reviewed, so the D-Zero can be considered, or whether it's a retaliation to the threat against the Finn. 

Yes, I get your point, especially when so many Olympic classes are SMODs. But on the other hand, when so many SMODs are sold, surely some should be allowed in the Games, because that means the Games reflect the type of wider sport.  If no SMOD was allowed in the Games then they would not be representative of the sport.

I think you're right about Anderson, who I find to be an extremely disappointing WS head.

I appreciate the importance of small suppliers; it's a complex subject. One thing I do note is that when I did an analysis of class marketing from the '70s dinghy boom it was apparent that the small suppliers spent a lot more on marketing the "normal" one designs. Y&Y's boat show issue was full of big ads for "normal" one designs, paid for by the sailmakers, builders and sparmakers who were involved in those classes. That support meant that the "normal" ODs and development classes often seem to have had the same marketing budget as the SMODs. Perhaps the current dominance of SMODs is because the small suppliers no longer seem to support other classes in the same way?