Back in 2002 British Telecom launched the most ridiculous lawsuit in history, when they went to court arguing that they invented the hyperlink, and anybody who has the temerity to link to anything should pay them for the privilege. To no one’s surprise it was laughed out of court, and we all went home, relieved that this most idiotic of notions hadn’t been upheld. Little did we know that a mere nine years later Apple would outdo BT comprehensively, and instigate a lawsuit so stupid it makes me wonder whether it’s some kind of elaborate practical joke. The idea that Apple have any ownership over rounded edges is a pretty frightening concept. Surely every car manufacturer on the planet must owe Steve Jobs billions by now?
Of course, if there’s any sanity left in the world this’ll be laughed out of court with an even more coarse ha-ha than the previous one. But even if common sense should prevail, what does this tell us about this supposedly cool, ‘alternative’ tech company? Are they really so oblivious or unconcerned by how we view them? Does this pathetic exercise in money-grabbing by the most profitable company in the world do anything but show them as the biggest sham in the business – their credibility shot to pieces by their own greed and deluded sense of self-importance?
It’s not even that Apple are the great innovators. They don’t innovate. They take pre-existing ideas that have been slaved over by genuinely creative people, and they put a nice slick cover over it. They’re glorified hacks, trying to dupe us that they’re something more. Worse than that: glorified hacks trying to take ownership of the works they’ve pilfered from.
Through this lawsuit, Apple are trying to monopolize the tablet market. They’re already the world’s biggest company, but evidently that’s not enough for them. They symbolize everything that is rotten about capitalism. A few years ago they seemed to be playing Luke Skywalker to Microsoft’s Darth Vader. But now that all seems a long time ago… in a galaxy far, far away.
|
|
© 2013, Instant Tech Blog. All rights reserved.
Array