As corporate giants Samsung and Apple argue over who stole the ideas, who will pay the price? Protection of intellectual property has gone crazy. Will it stifle development?
The media is full of stories about suits and countersuits flying wild between Samsung and Apple. Not only the iPad but now the new iPhone is being debated along with the Galaxy tablet. I really don't think any good can come from this.
Many years back, when I had a fresh pilot's license in my pocket, I was keen to get into the air, but at the time, insurance companies were keen to kill off the likes of Cessna, Piper and other light aircraft manufacturers. At least that is how it seemed. Just because some poor pilot made a mistake, all eyes, especially those of the insurance companies, turned to find out how they could blame the manufacturer of the plane for the crash. I remember reading how a rising sports star had taken fancy to a new business jet, but sadly met his demise in the same. They blamed the maker of the jet saying that they should have ensured the guy had better training! A bit like telling Ford to only sell to drivers that meet a standard imposed by insurers! The end result of all of this means that these multi-million dollar businesses had to shut down production of many of their planes because they could not afford the liability anymore. Bad news for pilots!
The legal costs involved with all of these actions, including the Samsung, Apple thing will cost us. You. You will pay, both in the pocketbook and the long run, in the time it takes to get new technology to market. Wouldn't it be great if technology development was co-operative and not competitive? I think we would be light-years ahead by now. What about you?
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After spending more than thirty five years in Information Technology, the whole industry still delights, amazes and frustrates me like nothing else. -