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"It's their X and they're a private company. Can't they just do whatever they want?" sounds like a really shitty world to live in. Imagine if your ISP could ta
by Hamuko 5y ago
"It's their X and they're a private company. Can't they just do whatever they want?" sounds like a really shitty world to live in.
Imagine if your ISP could tax your data at different rates depending on where it originated from because "it's their copper and they're a private company", or if Nokia could charge Apple $1000 per device sold because "it's their patents and they're a private company". The latter example of course would have made it completely impossible for the iPhone to ever exist since Nokia could've just priced them beyond all reason.
- czzr 5y agoNokia can charge $1000, but then no one would license their patents - so they charge a price the market will bear, that maximises their profit. Obviously the market can bear 30% for Apple. And this is actually unsurprising because the number used to be more like 50% when software was sold in physical stores. You’re free to think that’s too much, of course, and refuse to pay it.
- Hamuko 5y ago>Nokia can charge $1000, but then no one would license their patents You have fun making a phone without any Nokia patents. Just as a reminder, Nokia has patents in 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, H.264, H.265, H.266 and WLAN. There's a reason why Nokia is not allowed to charge whatever they want. But hey, if you have an idea on how to make a phone without licensing any of Nokia's patents, go ahead.
- czzr 5y agoNokia entered into agreements promising not to charge excessive amounts, that’s why their patents were used in all those standards. If they hadn’t signed those agreements their patents would not have been used, and hence would actually have been worth much less.