Daily Yonder just posted an interesting article on the National Grange’s take on the recent court decision to handsomely compensate Apple for intellectual violations perpetrated by Samsung.

Here’s a quick description of the decision…

National Grange is concerned about a patent lawsuit that Apple Inc. filed against Samsung. A jury recently awarded Apple $399 million in damages for intellectual property violations. Samsung smart phones were infringing on several Apple patents, the court said.

The ruling said Samsung must pay Apple 100% of Samsung’s profits from the sale of the devices that infringed on Apple’s patents.

And National Grange’s take on the implications…

The National Grange believes the court should give careful consideration to the potential harm that may come from excessive design patent financial damages in this case and other cases involving smart phones.

The ruling could limit competition and makes smart phones more expensive. That, in turn, would make them less accessible to rural communities and businesses.  Samsung, for example, provides far more options for smart phones with a greater range of prices than Apple. Samsung’s products appeal to many lower-income rural residents and to businesses that have to pay attention to what they spend.

I’m an advocate of intellectual property and a supporter of open source technology. So it’s a conundrum.