[aretiste]

When consumers realise they are paying too much (i.e. people in Asia will be paying less for the "same" phones), then things will get more interesting.

Apple's patent suits will enable it to charge inflated prices. And that's what they will do.

The comparisons commenters make to pharmaceuticals are amusing.

Apple is not like a drug company that charges high prices for it developed drugs. Those companies are reimbursed for their R&D through government programs and health insurance. Apple is reimbursed directly from people's paychecks or company budgets if the devices are purchased for employees.

These devices are cheap electronics. Few people can develop a generic version of a drug in their garage. But with 3D printing, the possibility of making protoypes that rival what Apple is selling is a real possibility.

Patents on biological materials came well before patents on software. The seriousness of the problems with the patent system (that would prompt people like Posner to speak out) is due to the behaviour of IT companies, not pharmaceutical companies.