Remember General Dynamics during the Johnson years. They got the contract for our new swing fighter but couldn’t build it. Solutio government ordered those that could build it but didn’t get the contract to teach them how. Gotta love those years.
The design competition for the Jeep in the late 30s was won by the American Bantam Car Company. But Bantam couldn’t produce the volume, so the government had Willys finalize the design. So that more could be produced, Willys licensed the design to the government, which gave it to Ford.
I don’t know if Bantam was ever compensated for the initial design that contributed to the Willys production, or for its contribution to the design licensed to Ford, but Willys got the trademark for “Jeep” after the war instead of Bantam.