[lmm]

As a European and an android user, without the "copiers" most of those "original pioneers" would deliver no value to me, so I'm very glad the "copiers" exist.

Don't want your business copied? Make it available to everyone yourself in the first place.

[nicbou]

What if the discovery process is risky and expensive? Protecting the idea is what pays the investors back.

[kolpa]

I think the idea is that if you license your work for slightly less than the cost of copying, everybody wins. But if you refuse to license, it's a net loss. This model goes far but does break down as the ratio of cost of creation to cost of duplication increases.

[lmm]

I'd rather there be a few investors making products that I get to use than a lot of investors making products that I don't get to use.