The "Levitron" maglev scandal trundles on. The stolen invention continues
to make money for those who took it. The site which exposed the scandal,
LEVITRON.COM, has been shut down because of trademark issues. However,
the wheels of justice grind slowly forwards. Here is a recent
newspaper article:
This presents an ethical dilemma. The toy is so much fun, do we buy it
anyway, even though the money goes to Bill Hones who stole it from its
originator? Do we try to talk ourselves into justifying the theft, or
talk ourselves into believing that it never occured? If we bought ours
before we knew that the invention was stolen, does that make it OK to do
nothing? Or should we return our Levitrons back to Hones at Fascinations,
Seattle, with a letter explaining our opinion of his actions?