It is a delight to wake up on a Sunday morning and scout around the mainstream press for more IP news. Good also to see Florian Mueller at FOSS patents getting good exposure and giving insightful comments on both the BBC and this article in the Guardian on the Apple and Samsung spat.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/aug/26/apple-wins-ban-samsung-galaxy
Without trying to judge the IP rights and wrongs of this spat, I try to explain it in laymans terms along these lines, remembering that Samsung is a major and important supplier to Apple so this litigation series should only have been taken after a lot of considered thought and senior level approval inside Apple. In fact, imagine the management team level debate between Jobs, the creator, and Cook, the operations and supply chain guru. The chairman opens the discussion.
“so, we have this paper from group legal to start worldwide patent infringement proceedings against Samsung. Steve, your thoughts?”
“for me it’s simple” says Jobs…”the iPad was conceived at the same time as the iPhone in 2003. We were the first since Microsoft with its original tablet to conceive of the tablet being the next big thing. Design put 25000 man days into creating an awesome user experience. We protected what we thought were the original and unique design features. This wasn’t easy with what had come before but we filed two dozen patent applications. This was a new baby we’d created. Samsung and others are jumping on our success. If we don’t enforce our rights, what’s the point in having them? Yes I realise that Samsung is a key supplier but I would have expected more from them. We are a key customer too. If we have a corporate fall out so be it. If we don’t take that risk then every time we change the rules of the game, we will lose respect from the market. So the proposal has my support…”
Chairman..”Tim?”
“this is not as simple to me. I respect Steve’s views but I fear that we will suffer at a corporate level in Samsung. They’re a key A list supplier. They are replaceable but not easily. So although I support it, I want to proceed with caution. I want to call our contacts on the chip supply side to explain our position and to ask for their support. I also think we should be very aware of our end game here. We should get Samsung to take a license and we should be prepared to grant one. Let’s leave lots of room to negotiate. There’s too much at stake otherwise..”
Chair..”I think we have a decision team. It’s a go but with caution…”
I hadn’t thought about it until I started typing but imagine a Tim Cook led discussion. Same outcome? Maybe not.
The Guardian also has an excellent profile of Steve Jobs this morning. I know I can’t hide it but I’m a big admirer. Even moreso when reading about how grizzly and determined he can be to get his way. I’m not sure that this week’s step down as CEO is as big a thing as the markets suggest. Stepping down as CEO doesn’t mean he’s out altogether. Expect him to still be influencing Apple’s direction for a long time and it’s corporate values and principles longer still.
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