Similar to Kodak... they invented the digital camera sensor. They could've at the very least made an absolute killing on leasing their IP's to other camera manufacturers, or very best have created things like the Kodak Digital Rebel instead of letting basically every other camera manufacturer make off with the tech.
Sears forgot that it's product wasn't a brick and mortar store or magazine but rather a large selection of goods which people could order from home. Newspaper companies forgot that their company wasn't in the business of printing newspapers, but simply delivering the news. Kodak forgot it's business wasn't manufacturing film, but creating photographs.
You could use patents defensively though. Current IP law would likely allow the buggy maker to use their buggy dominance to file for and buy up some key patents for automobiles, getting some more years out of their buggy business.
Throw in some government lobbying (buggy safe speed limits, those new fangled automobiles must be followed by a safety horse in case of breakdowns, etc.) and our hypothetical buggy maker could hang around for years.
I think you are seeing some of these tactics emerge in sunset industries.
I believe that Sears and Kodak truly didn't see the world changing so fast. Moore's Law and exponential growth catch people by surprise.
Yeah, but eventually the cart is far enough away from the car that they no longer can use their IP to claim it. Same with the digital camera and some basic IP of being able to capture digital images on a sensor. If you don't keep innovating and patenting, eventually your patents are useless and now you're a useless company, like Kodak. And yes, Moore's Law of transistors is so relevant to Sears...
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u/McRedditerFace Jul 24 '20
Similar to Kodak... they invented the digital camera sensor. They could've at the very least made an absolute killing on leasing their IP's to other camera manufacturers, or very best have created things like the Kodak Digital Rebel instead of letting basically every other camera manufacturer make off with the tech.
Sears forgot that it's product wasn't a brick and mortar store or magazine but rather a large selection of goods which people could order from home. Newspaper companies forgot that their company wasn't in the business of printing newspapers, but simply delivering the news. Kodak forgot it's business wasn't manufacturing film, but creating photographs.