A father lays in his deathbed. He had a long and productive life; having started out with nothing, he managed to amass a fortune of mythical proportions.
Not so much the gold, or the land that stretches far beyond anyone's eye could see. His fortune lay in his wisdom: through toil, wits and luck he found a way to plough the land so that instead of one it can feed a million people, he discovered how to mix herbs to heal the wounds, and he uncovered the secrets of flying in the skies.
His two sons are by his side. The one on his right is strong, clever and hard-working, the one on the left a bit less so - although some say his misfortunes are due to his bad luck.
The cruel father utters these last words: 'May my land and my diamonds go to the strongest one; and as for my most expensive treasure, the knowledge I have developed, may that be free for both of you to use'. And as he closes his eyes, the strong son goes on to cultivate his father's lands, and to apply his father's knowledge and develop it even further; the weak son goes on living on the breadcrumbs that fall from the strong son's table.
But the good father utters these last words: 'My two sons, one of you is strong and the other weak. Yet, my strong son, no matter how you claim your wealth is all of your own making, you would never be able to get rich without my knowledge, without the foundations I built. Most of what you produce is not of yours, but of my making.
I love you both the same, and this holds true of your children and of your children's children that I will never meet. So, I will grant you each half of the rights to my knowledge - call it a patent if you wish. Should one of you utilise this knowledge to create wealth for himself, he should compensate the other for using his half of the rights to the knowledge that I, your father, bequethed you. Never forget, you are standing on the shoulders of giants, and the giants have no reason to love either one of you more than another.'
Which father is the fairer of the two? What would your father be more likely to do? If you are confused, it may all become clearer if you remember Will giving me a hard time.
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