The harder they fall
Thu, 01/26/2006 - 19:08
The Business
Protection of intellectual property is one of the bugaboos of high tech. But at the same time that companies and individuals are making progress in discouraging would-be cyberthieves, here comes the European Commission (European!!) throwing Microsoft to the mat. Microsoft, to comply with a 2004 ruling that it was violating antitrust laws, is in the position of having to license portions of its source code to competitors. That’s like . . . What? The sixth-grade bully who would leave you alone only if you handed over your crayon box.
Is there another industry that has to put up with this nonsense? Can you imagine Mr. Toyota turning over some chapters from his quality-assurance manual to Mr. Ford? It’s fun to bash Microsoft—as a confirmed Apple-ite since the mid-80s, I know I enjoy it—but you have to wonder what the broader effect on technical innovation will be. Microsoft played an essential role in putting a desktop on every desk—i.e., in bringing technology to the masses (sorry, Mr. Jobs, and yes, it should have been you). We’re not at the end of the technological road. But we may be ending the incentives to follow it. - zander
