The Lords of the Ringtones: will one king rule the technology standards of the future?

Abstract

In early 2006, I was pulled into a battle, which became but one in a whole series of battles that have since become referred to as the “Smartphone Wars” – which sounds a lot like Star Wars, although the Lord of the Rings would make for a better analogy, where various different interests vie for power or mere survival. In 2006 I was a newly qualified lawyer, at the law firm Bird & Bird, with a background in Chemistry. It was an exciting time, wondering where my career might lead. In my mind, it was going to be delving into the world of litigating pharmaceutical and chemical patents in private practice. Little did I know that some court pleadings, which landed on my desk one day that year, were going to take me on a most unexpected journey.