mrmez :
You can thank Samsung for forcing Pioneer out of the TV market. Pioneer had amazing plasma screens. Samsung illegally used their patents, undercut them on price, then dragged out the legal battle for so long that by the time they inevitably lost, Pioneer's TV business was damaged beyond saving.
I'm not so sure about that. Pioneer was never one of the Big Three HDTV OEMs out there (Sony, LG, Samsung). Pioneer should have known better than to take on a market dominating panel maker and instead focus on what they do best: audio equipment. I mean seriously. When did Pioneer ever get into video beforehand? I don't recall them ever making tube TVs like Sony had been doing since introducing their first "Trinitron" CRT TV before we even landed on the moon. Sony had a joint agreement with Samsung for LCD panel tech and in 2011 or so sold their stake to them for almost a cool billion. They are currently vested with Sharp.
LG and Matsushita settled a similar dispute over plasma tech and signed a mutual licensing agreement before it ever got to the courts. To me that entire fiasco between Pioneer and Samsung was completely unnecessary but apparently both sides could not reach an agreement so egos got in the way. Pioneer lost and should have known better than to pick a battle with an expert and giant in the field, which Pioneer was not. Oh by the way, I still have my 720p 42" Samsung plasma built in 2007. I only keep it in a spare room now for guests as it just uses way too much power and creates too much heat.
ElectrO_90 :
This is protectionism, America thinks foreign companies are stealing your tech, and wants to protect it. Yet, America thinks Apple is American.It's really funny how America likes to think its the big dog, and it really isn't any more.
1) That's because history is rife with our tech getting stolen (or sold illegally by corporate insiders).
2) We are the big dog as a single nation. We have a higher per capita GDP based on population than all EU nations combined.
3) Last time I checked, an American created Apple and their headquarters are in the US. Unless you are talking about some other Apple company I'm not aware of.
4) Why do you non-Americans think it is okay to protectionist your own nation's companies and industry but the US cannot? Oh silly me. I'm probably talking to a European who thinks it is perfectly fine for the EU leadership bureaucrats based in Brussels to tell Brits what types of electric teapots they are allowed to own based on energy rating consumption.
epdm2be :
Great. Instead of spending money for innovation companies do nothing but pay fines here and there. Money which disappears in bloody politicians' pocket.
Actually any of that money gets passed on to we the consumer in future product price hikes. And I don't know what politicians have to do with lawsuit spats between corporations. I do know that the lawyers always win in the end though whether or not their client wins.