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I don't think that Vital Tech was responsible at all, because there were many patients who received their final notice and chose to die peacefully. There was even a chapter somewhere in the middle of the book that described a woman receiving her final notice, and instead of trying to seek revenge, she spent her last days saying goodbye to her family, and donating all of her possessions. Then the chapter closed with the author stating that sadly, the FBI and the public would probably never hear about all the people who spent their last days peacefully before receiving their final notice.
In regards to the murders, I think the responsibility fell solely on the murderer because they took advantage of the fact that they would not be alive to face any consequences.

I feel the Final Notice is identical to receiving the same news from a doctor. I am curious whether any statistics exist regarding the use of guns (or other weapons) to commit crimes by those given verbal notice of impending death straight from a doctor. Many times, the patient still goes home to finalize affairs and pass in the comfort of their own home. The patient would have access to weapons at this time as well. I imagine someone somewhere must have committed a similar crime after receiving bad news from a doctor.

Although the role of VitalTech has been watered down, I think they have the greatest responsibility.

I think VitalTech should have tested out the final notice in a different way. They could have done it in a more controlled environment somehow. It was good that they started screening their participants, but it still needed to be much more thorough.

If we decide to blame Vitaltech, then we must as well go back to the caves because every technological advancement we have ever made has to have side effects. All I can say is that we don't usually blame the mirror when we look at our unsightly reflection on it. All Vijay did is to create a device that brought out our true ugly reflection as a human race. We have to live with the consequences.

The company has a lot to answer for, especially after they realized that everything was going crazy. There was more evil than good being done. Dr Patel tried to curb the situation and make adjustments but he no longer had control. Most companies usually have a Board and they should have immediately changed tactics. The information they gave out was potentially deadly so they had to monitor and brace themselves for possible change in plans. But sometimes, matters get out of hand and become difficult to address. I am glad a solution was eventually found.

I think VitalTech should take responsibility in some of the negative out comes.

To me, this is one of the most interesting aspects of the book. I think legally, they weren't liable (though I am not a lawyer, so what do I know). I think ethically, they did hold some responsibility and there were probably ways they could mitigate some of the harm done by people who received the notice. I did enjoy reading their internal discussions about the feature and grappling with their own responsibility. It made me wonder what I would do in their shoes.

I'm not sure how much responsibility they should really bear. While it's true that they need to be careful with their offerings I don't understand how they could foresee who would cause the problems and who wouldn't. I, myself, don't want to know when my time is up, but it can sure help with "housekeeping".

I think VTech did as much as they could do to ensure their products have little negative impact. However they could still do more, some one suggested the 911 and see a doctor option which i do think is a good idea.

I firmly believe Vitaltech bears some responsibility. If they had conducted their tests properly, they would have discovered the potential stability problems. Like, even for birth control, there are lists upon lists of side effects if you look at any medical drug.