What aspect largely determined the success of the widely deployed technology over proprietary claims?
The platform invention provided by the tech giants
While private entities, such as the Utah company, may hold patents or proprietary claims over specific proximity logic or application features, the widespread success and deployment of the final contact tracing applications were overwhelmingly dependent on the underlying technological foundation. This foundation was the 'platform invention,' specifically the standardized, decentralized protocol delivered via the joint effort of Google and Apple. This shared technological base abstracted away much of the difficulty in achieving multi-platform functionality, meaning the final product used by millions was essentially variations built atop this unified standard rather than entirely novel inventions originating from scratch.
