Those who look forward to Apple (yet again) redefining the technological horizon, like it did with the iPhone, may need to temper their expectations. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken an ill-conceived step with an antitrust lawsuit that, if successful, threatens to transform Apple from an industry maverick into just another phone maker.

The DOJ wants Apple to turn its iPhone system into a generic tech platform so that rivals can use it without being bothered by Apple’s insistence that the iPhone have a specific look and feel. This is in effect an attack on Steve Jobs’ convictions that true innovation comes from defying, not following, industry norms; taking end-to-end responsibility for user experience; leapfrogging rivals; and bending reality. The most valuable innovations are not incremental improvements within an existing system, but new and unique digital ecosystems that overhaul user experiences.

Read Dr. Jamison’s complete blog post at AEI.