I have to respectfully disagree with +Mike Elgan about #boycottapple
Mike is right that corporations are bound by fidicuary responsibility to make as much money for their shareholders as they can within the limits of the law. If we assume that the patent law situation is not going to change then what Apple is doing by trying squash their competition in the courts is the right thing.
However, I think we need to look at this from a broader perspective. Changing intellectual property law can only be done by Congress. Unfortunately our legislators are largely in the pocket of the big corporations that benefit the most from the current IP structure so that means nothing will change unless those corporations decide it needs to change.
But how will that happen you might ask. The only way that these companies will ever change their stance is when it hurts their bottom line to maintain the status quo. That will only happen if consumers stop subsidising this behavior by not buying these products.
If we look at the companies that are abusing the current system, non-practising entities (aka patent trolls) don't make anything to boycott and it appears that the market is already boycotting Microsoft and Nokia for other reasons. Android companies including Samsung, Motorola and HTC are only using patents to defend themselves agains the likes of Apple and Microsoft.
That means the only means we have of changing the direction of intellectual property law is to stop buying from the companies that benefit from it most notably Apple. If Apple starts to believe that persuing patent suits cost them more than lobbying for changes in the law, then they will push for change.
Then and only then will things change.
#patents
Reshared post from +Mike Elgan
Why the ‘Boycott Apple’ movement is dumb.
The #BoycottApple hashtag was trending hard on Google+ last week. The call to boycott is based on Apple’s attempts to ban both the Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone and the Galaxy 10.1 tablet.
Here’s why the call for a boycott is misguided and futile:
http://www.cultofmac.com/177786/why-the-boycott-apple-movement-is-dumb/
(Pic props to +Phlash Tha)
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