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Time To Abolish Patents, but Reform Is the Likeliest
Current System Breeds Abuse
A few years ago, when the world was still smitten by Elon Musk, he was incessantly compared to Steve Jobs.
In part because Steve Jobs had left the world, and we wanted an icon to lead us into the future. But also because Steve Jobs is the benchmark for disruptive innovation.
There was a time when Steve Jobs firmly believed protecting Apple's past was more important than investing in Apple's future. He wanted to secure Apple's product portfolio by challenging the competitor.
It was brutal. It was the reality.
Mr. Jobs said: "I'm going to destroy Android because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this. I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to right this wrong."
His intent to go after Android breaks every assumption we have about patents. The protective cover offered by patents did not make Steve Jobs feel secure about Apple's products. Neither did it help him prioritize innovation over litigation.
Had that been the case, Steve Jobs would have said I would spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank to increase the pace of innovation and leave the…
