Transistors to the Masses, Multi-touch to the few?

I'm currently reading "What the Doormouse Said" by John Markoff; a historical recount of cultural events leading up the the personal computer. The preface explains how AT&T Bell was forced by the Justice Department to license the transistor for free, after AT&T Bell's control over the IP threatened to undermine a computing revolution. Could patents on multi-touch technology be today's equivalent situation?

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