They were once the pioneers of robotic vacuum cleaning, but iRobot — the company behind the iconic Roomba — is now out of cash and on the brink of bankruptcy. Once a prized acquisition target for Amazon, the deal collapsed after U.S. and EU regulators blocked the takeover. Since then, iRobot’s technology has fallen behind,... Read More
Years of stagnation and underinvestment have left its product lineup dated, while mass layoffs have gutted its development teams.
Patents would have held up this carcass for years and years, preventing anyone from actually innovating and improving on the original design, and keeping the prices bloated. Fuck patents.
It’s like complaining that you got overtaken when you stopped running after the 100m line, when you’re running a marathon.
“By not enforcing your patents”
You’re absolutely right. From the article:
Patents would have held up this carcass for years and years, preventing anyone from actually innovating and improving on the original design, and keeping the prices bloated. Fuck patents.
It’s like complaining that you got overtaken when you stopped running after the 100m line, when you’re running a marathon.