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Flash Of Genius Ethics

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Flash Of Genius Ethics
When Robert Kearns develops an intermittent windshield wiper, he believes he and his family are set for life. Though the invention is a hit with Detroit automakers in the 1960s, he finds himself out of the picture. Determined to get the recognition he deserves, he wages a lengthy legal battle with the auto industry. “Flash of Genius” is a movie directed by Marc Abraham, released in 2008. This movie, based on an article by John Seabrook, stars Greg Kinnear as Dr. Robert Kearns, Laura Graham as his wife, Phyllis, Dermott Mulroney as Gil Previck, a financial backer, and Alan Alda as Attorney Gregory Lawson. Patent law rarely makes for a spellbinding drama. But in this case, one man’s obsessive crusade against the big automakers is also the tragic story of how his efforts to protect and enforce his patent bring about a mental breakdown and the end of his marriage. “Flash of Genius” is a good movie that offers a number of lessons on business ethics. In the early 1960’s, Dr. Robert Kearns is a husband, father, engineer, professor and inventor in Detroit, Michigan. While driving in a rainstorm, he wonders why the car’s windshield wipers cannot function like an eyelid. Kearns thought, “Why can’t it blink” (Seabrook, 1993, p. 38)? This question leads him to invent the intermittent windshield …show more content…
Ford Motor Company is the big evil company that stole the idea of the intermittent wiper from Kearns. The movie perpetuates the myth that invention comes from a “flash of genius,” which is the most important part of innovation. However, an idea is only a small part of what is important. The real innovation is turning an idea into something that works, is useful, cost effective and a product people will buy. The movie clearly suggests the importance of the intermittent wiper to the auto industry, but it also alludes to the unethical way in which Ford Motor Company acquires
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