In an excerpt from Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, set to be released on October 23rd, Jobs explains that he wants to use any means necessary to crush Google Android because he believed they were stealing ideas from Apple. In one memo, Jobs says they will go to "thermonuclear war" with Android, and in a meeting with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Jobs said, "I don't want your money. If you offer me $5 billion, I won't want it. I've got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that's all I want."
These quotes definitely give some background to Apple's expansive legal battle with basically every company that ever made a smartphone. They currently have cases in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia against companies ranging from Samsung to Motorla, all accusing them of intellectual property theft. With all due respect for Jobs' stance, some of these cases are over very simplistic portions of the OS and will probably not be successful if not settled out of court.
Which leads to the new question: are these cases a good strategic decision for Apple, or part of Jobs' personal crusade? It seems Jobs took an angrier-than-average appraoch to intellectual property theft, so will Apple continue to aggressively pursue these lawsuits under different leadership? While I'm sure the suits won't disappear immediately, it would not surprise me to see more of the claims settled over the next few months, even if that wouldn't necessarily be what Jobs wanted.
Want to connect with other Geek Ologists? Join the conversation over on My.Ology and enter for a chance to win $1,000!
Follow Jonathan Moorman on Twitter: @HeedTheWalrus
Join today! Ology is where thousands of people share their interests and passions with each other.
This Makes Me Happy... Post anything that makes you happy. Go!
Taylor Swift For those of us who can't get enough Swifty.
Ology Hip-Hop "I embrace y'all with napalm..."
MLB All things baseball during the summer dog days
(2)
Comments
Don't worry, we'll never be evil with your information
-or-