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Portable Stereo Creator Gets His Due

Posted by Zonk on from the i-thought-sony-created-the-world dept.

eadint wrote to mention an International Tribune article covering Sony's settlement with the inventor of the portable stereo. From the article: "Pavel invented the device known today as the Walkman. But it took more than 25 years of battling the Sony Corporation and others in courts and patent offices around the world before he finally won the right to say it: Andreas Pavel invented the portable personal stereo player."

2 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. The hypocrisy of Slashdot by msormune · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So why is this not an obvious invention? Because it is a single guy against a big company, suddenly it's ok to patent something pretty obvious and try to start cashing in on it? This of course means that the manufacturers will increase the prices in order to cover the extra licensing costs. If someone working for Microsoft had patented this 25 years ago and now won the patent, most people on Slashdot would be huffing and puffing with their faces red. But when it's a single guy against the "new evil empire" Sony, let's all cheer for him. Never mind that it's the consumer that gets screwed in the end.

    1. Re:The hypocrisy of Slashdot by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 4, Interesting

      There have been *many* cases of patents retarding innovation.

      My favourite is the steam engine - development was stalled for 20 years because of an outstanding patent on high pressure steam valves.

      And that was when patents didn't have stupid lifetimes.... If it were like today I suspect we'd still be waiting for someone to invent it.