Photograph by Moto@Club4AG
Patent Wars – Who will the force be with?
A video on the BBC News website today gives an interesting look into the world of patent wars going on between large technology firms.
It appears that the likes of Apple, Samsung and Motorola are continually locked in patent battles through intellectual property lawyers to protect the parts of their smart phone and tablet devices which they believe make their products unique.
In the video Geoff McCormick, director of UK design firm The Alloy, which devises technology products, takes apart an iPhone to explain the thousands of pieces of intellectual property that are contained in a modern smartphone.
Apparently patent disputes are increasingly defining the way smartphones and tablets develop – both what they do, and how they look. It’s interesting to think that one of the key things that will dictate design and technological advancement is the human arguments going on in locked courtrooms to prove ownership of a particular idea or concept.
As humans we all have desire to be original or come up with something that will make us unique and maybe even define our existences (or make meaning of them at least).
So I suppose its only natural that people want to fiercely protect the ideas they fundamentally and passionately believe are theirs. Oh and in the case of smartphones and tablet devices there is also the hundreds of millions of pounds to be made which probably has something to do with it.
Sorry for the Star Wars reference as I know people are getting sick of them in the marketing world. But when it comes to the ‘force’ being with any of these technological giants they all seem strong enough to cope without the help of Yoda although a Jedi mind trick or two would be just the thing for any legal argument.