Woz Calls Apple "The Good Guy" Among Large Patent Owners
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is weighing in on the difficulty of patents being leveraged by trolls and larger companies against startups.
According to Wozniak, there are "certain [technology] categories that are heavily blocked off because the big companies make sure they own it all."
In an article published by Financial Review, Wozniak noted that while the patent system is presenting challenges to new companies, there is still room to invent and entrepreneurs should be encouraged to innovate. However, he recalled his own experience with patents when he designed the Apple II computer and Apple had to pay license fees to RCA for the idea that letters could be shown as pixels on a computer screen.
"We actually wound up paying them two bucks for every computer we shipped just for that simple idea," he said. "That sort of thing is going to crop up over and over – very simple ideas that the big companies with big money are going to own, and the small guy who starts up is going to have to pay."
As far as Apple is concerned, he described the company as "the good guy on the block of all of them", simply because Apple is inventing and "creating so much".
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Douglas Perry was a freelance writer for Tom's Hardware covering semiconductors, storage technology, quantum computing, and processor power delivery. He has authored several books and is currently an editor for The Oregonian/OregonLive.
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dcrussian How can "entrepreneurs be encouraged to innovate" when there's a constant sort of "fear" that you'll be breaking a patent when you make something. Seems like people have to reinvent the wheel just to avoid lawsuits these days; that or pay royalties on patents.Reply -
halcyon Did anyone expect "Woz" to have a different perspective? I like Apple products but I'd not go so far as to call them the "good guys" with a straight face.Reply -
webbwbb halcyonI like Apple products but I'd not go so far as to call them the "good guys" with a straight face.Reply
Rephrased: I enjoy paying villians for thier evil deeds.