How Big Tech Coopts Disruption – and What to Do About It

Abstract

Our economy is dominated by five aging tech giants – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft. Each of these firms was founded more than 20 years ago: Apple and Microsoft in the 1970s, Google and Amazon in the 1990s, and Facebook in 2004. Each of them grew by successfully commercializing a disruptive technology – personal computers (Apple), operating systems (Microsoft), online shopping (Amazon), search engines (Google), and social networks (Facebook). Each of them displaced the incumbents that came before them. But in the last 20 years, no company has commercialized a new technology in a way that threatens the tech giants. Why?

Document Type

Op-ed

Publication Date

3-4-2024

Source Publication

CLS Blue Sky Blog

Disciplines

Intellectual Property Law | Law | Law and Society

Link to Full Text
Archived Link

Share

COinS