remember what was on the first mix tape you made?
the first one you gave away as a gift?
If you should be that age.
From the above link:
Oddly, Philips did not charge royalties on their cassette patent, allowing numerous other companies to use their design for free. This ensured the quick acceptance of it as a new form of media.
Now isn’t that something that Sony (MiniDisc, MemoryStick etc) should read and read until they do understand it ?