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Doesn't this just mean that Apple, Google, etc., are rent seeking? If there's a creek behind my house where the community comes to get fish, that's value for th

by p4wnc6 11y ago

Doesn't this just mean that Apple, Google, etc., are rent seeking? If there's a creek behind my house where the community comes to get fish, that's value for those people. If I see them doing it and build a giant fence and start charging money for creek access and fishing permits, that's pure rent seeking. I didn't create the value or extract value from something where others couldn't extract value. I artificially prevented people from extracting value they otherwise easily could have, and then charged them for access. It's mostly the same with apps that are copied into OS features. What entitles Apple, Google, etc., to the value of that idea beyond some kind of might makes right argument? They're big and they spend money on regulatory capture and legal battles, so that alone entitles them? I mean, it does entitle them, at least currently, if we take only a very narrow understanding of "entitled" to mean "that which does actually happen and isn't prevented." But that's not really the spirit of the laws, public sentiment, or how this stuff relates to overall human welfare.

toomuchtodo 11y ago
> Doesn't this just mean that Apple, Google, etc., are rent seeking? I don't think so. Its subjective, of course, but they are consistently adding value to their platforms and services. > It's mostly the same with apps that are copied into OS features. What entitles Apple, Google, etc., to the value of that idea beyond some kind of might makes right argument? A patent is a license from the government to extract value from your idea for a period of time. If your idea meets the criteria for a patent, I encourage you to patent it. If your idea doesn't meet the criteria, tough. Apple and Google are then entitled to the value for execution, whereas you're entitled to nothing. > They're big and they spend money on regulatory capture and legal battles, so that alone entitles them? While a small amount of regulatory capture and legal battles have contributed to the development of Apple and Google's ecosystems, what entitles them to their value is the moat they've created through effort (engineers * time).

by p4wnc6 11y ago

toomuchtodo 11y ago

> Doesn't this just mean that Apple, Google, etc., are rent seeking? I don't think so. Its subjective, of course, but they are consistently adding value to their platforms and services. > It's mostly the same with apps that are copied into OS features. What entitles Apple, Google, etc., to the value of that idea beyond some kind of might makes right argument? A patent is a license from the government to extract value from your idea for a period of time. If your idea meets the criteria for a patent, I encourage you to patent it. If your idea doesn't meet the criteria, tough. Apple and Google are then entitled to the value for execution, whereas you're entitled to nothing. > They're big and they spend money on regulatory capture and legal battles, so that alone entitles them? While a small amount of regulatory capture and legal battles have contributed to the development of Apple and Google's ecosystems, what entitles them to their value is the moat they've created through effort (engineers * time).