Answer:
c. the company's design patents.
Step-by-step explanation:
Based on the scenario being described within the question it can be said that this would most likely be the company's design patents. Mostly due to the fact that the Gladiator Apparel has only a set amount of design patents, thus making it a scarce resource, but most importantly these patents are unique and only owned by Gladiator Apparel and no-one else which places them in a competitive advantage because anyone who wants these designs needs to purchase them from Gladiator Apparel.