It’s said that competition fuels innovation, so therefore competition is good; good for the advancement of technology and good for the consumer’s pocket. Competition in the field of technology keeps information accessible, protocols open and standards adhered to. It is starting to seem however, that Apple does not agree with this sentiment, in light of its recent fiasco of lawsuits.
Apple has been behind several innovative products in the later half of the last decade, and has proved to be a substantial opponent to Microsoft, the former king of computing. Apple no doubt achieved this with pure innovation and a genius marketing strategy which raked up millions of loyal subjects.
Predictably many patents have been registered by Apple in light of its rise to power and stardom. Understandably, patents exist to protect intellectual property, however, there surely is a line at which patent-ability stops. Logically many generic ideas may not be patentable, such as dressing in a certain style or using a specific colour in your logo. Apple recently lashed its legal claws out at the online media giant, Amazon, for the use of the two words “App” and “Store”. Therefore the term “App Store” cannot be used commercially, anywhere, forever. Not even on a Bar One wrapper.
Is this now going too far? Is Apple really the victim of idea theft? Are the two words “App” and “Store” an invention, an idea so original that it did not exist and had not been thought of previous to the founding of the Apple corporation?
It seems as though Apple is now on the warpath to obliterate any and all competition, has it lost the its direction to innovate both aesthetically and technologically, is it now only able to intimidate and destroy? If so, then it potentially means gloomy clouds for the world of technology and the consumers it serves. As if there is no competition, monopolization will spread rampantly.
Amongst Apple’s battalion of lawsuits against Samsung, it has managed to recently block the sale of Samsung’s latest tablet computer in Europe, claiming that Samsung has violated various Apple patents with their devices, including touch screen scrolling operations and screen display rotation, which seems like very diluted claims as those features are incredibly generic. At this rate it would not surprise me if the next bout of Apple vs Samsung action is because Samsung uses the letter “A” in its brand name and therefore is copying Apple as they also use the letter “A” in their brand name!
Other mobile device manufacturers have not been left unscathed, Nokia and HTC have also been in the path of Apple’s lust for blood. Not to mention the Android mobile operating system, developed by Google, which is IOS’s (iPad and iPhone’s operating system) biggest competitor. It seems as though Apple wants to be the only portable device maker in the world. All of these leaves that Apple is rustling is leaving a bad smell and making the traditionally evil corporation like Microsoft seem saintly.
In all sincerity, it seems as though Apple is beginning to act like a spoilt brat who can’t get along with his classmates. Apple is clearly worried about its rivals, why? Because they obviously doing something better. So why can’t apple devote all this negative energy into positive innovation and out do its rivals, instead of crying wolf at every turn?
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