Against Intellectual Monopoly
This paper disagrees with the augment of the authors that copyright and patents are not necessary for new ideas or products and that they stifle innovation. The statement does not consider other factors that are involved in the innovation processes such as resources spend to develop and structure new ideas and products. One effort in developing new ideas and products should be protected to ensure they are not only used for innovation and do not enjoy the fruits of their hard work. However, the length of which the copyright and patent is in existence should be balanced to ensure other people with the capability of using the idea or product to develop a more sophisticated one have the opportunity to do so.
The cases of patent infringement in relation to technology have recently increased due to the increase in the technological innovations in various sectors. One of the recent cases of patent infringement is that involving Apple, where by the company was found by a Chinese court to have infringed Qualcomm’s patents and was issued a preliminary injunction. The United States after investigating the issue found that Apple was liable for infringing Qualcomm’s patents resulting Qualcomm being awarded $31 million in damages. There are various cases were patent and copyright have aided innovation. For instant, the companies in social media sector have achieved to improve their specific platforms due the protection offered by patent and copyright. Each company competes based on their ability to innovate new features to ensure their platform remain the most attractive to users rather than copying ideas of their competitors.
Work Cited
Boldrin, Michele, and David K. Levine. Against Intellectual Monopoly. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print.
