MY TAKE
- In the short term, Apple’s stock may move higher, while Samsung's and Google’s may be lower; but lawsuits and appeals will continue. As technology companies expand their patent portfolios, debates will continue about whether patent or copyright law should cover software (Europe and other regions favor copyright) and if user interface design and business processes should fall within the scope of patent law at all.
- The history of technology innovation is mostly a process of refinement and/or better execution of pre-existing ideas. For example: 1) several innovations popularized by Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s Macintosh are based on the Xerox Star - introduced in 1981 and 2) many tablet design concepts were introduced in by Roger Fidler in 1994 (see video below), then Director of New Media for Knight-Ridder Inc. Let’s hope patent wars do not stifle innovation and consumer choice.