That's one way to look at it. I applaud Apple and co for what they have created, but even drugs have patent expiries, eventually becoming generics.

I'd be fine with that model - let them make money for 5 years recouping their R&D costs, then they must offer documentation so the community can repair / maintain the hardware themselves.

I personally see it as falling under "the right to repair" and selfishly, I know we can do more with the hardware than they are demonstrating. It's endlessly frustrating that we are not allowed to and then the devices just disappear forever.

>I applaud Apple and co for what they have created, but even drugs have patent expiries, eventually becoming generics.

In the US, all patents have 20 year terms (from initial patent filing). Of course, patents don’t tell you how to make something, so it’s not sufficient anyway for something like smartphones or medicine.