Apple and Samsung Ordered Talks Fail - Trial Date Set

Fluffeh writes "Apple and Samsung just can't come to an agreement, even when the two CEOs have been ordered by a court to hash it out over a two-day period. U.S. Judge Judy Koh had ordered the sit down prior to court proceedings between the two giants, but the talks resulted in nothing more than each side confirming its position. Although Apple CEO Tim Cook said, 'I've always hated litigation and I continue to hate it,' he also said, 'if we could get to some kind of arrangement where we'd be assured [they are inventing their own products] and get a fair settlement on the stuff that's occurred.' Perhaps Tim is worried that Samsung is still the primary component supplier for mobile products, including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, or perhaps Apple has bitten off more than it really wants to chew, with the litigation between the two getting to truly epic and global proportions."

Unlearned lesson for business economics

[Anonymous Coward]

American Business schools give young whippersnappers all kinds of fucked up advice (like to Dell: continue to cut costs by outsourcing to a Taiwanese company ....good... untill Asus eats your lunch). Here is another one. Send product assembly to Foxconn because they can abuse Chinese labor like no one else on earth. Communist, shmomunist. Wanna eat? We have work. Just chain youself to that post and we will let you eat and sleep nearly every day! And in another cost saving measure: oursource difficult to manufacture parts of the supply chain to South Korea. What's the vendor? Kia? Hundai? Daewoo? LG? No. Its another South Korean company. Samsung. Thats it. Now, on to these legal battles. Who are we competing with? Those bastards! What's their name? Sam*sung? We Will Sue! What? What do you mean our supply chain collapsed? Our difficult-to-manufacture parts supplier is experiencing bottlenecks? Its killing our business, we *NEED* those parts! What? What do you mean someone is suing them and until the law suit is over they can't supply parts? I thought outsourcing was supposed to be a good thing! The short answer is: if Apple wins the suit, their supply chain dies. Hello android.

SO...

[Osgeld]

Using samsung products as intended is now "inventing their own products" by apple?

You didnt invent the hardware, you didnt invent the rounded rectangle, even your precious steve was quoted as stating "Rectangles with rounded corners are everywhere! Just look around this room!"

http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=Round_Rects_Are_Everywhere.txt&sortOrder=Sort%20by%20Date&detail=medium&search=round

You didnt invent grey metal, nor glossy piano black, or the widescreen format, so I am sorry outside of software (which is based on open source) what did you do outside of marketing and packaging?

"Perhaps Tim is worried that Samsung is still the primary component supplier for mobile products"

Holy shit, something el steveo never got... what drives droves of apple customers away? They fact they cant offer compatiblity, sometimes within their own family of shit. People dont like paying a pile of money just to find out all the new shit next month wont work because of a rom issue, architecture change, or planned obsolescence based on an flake assholes whim and personal hissy fits.

Unbalanced

[chowdahhead]

The problem is that Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, and Ericcson spend billions of USD annually on research that has contributed to the underlying technology that makes mobile phones work. Apple hasn't and has little to offer in a cross-licence agreement, since most of their mobile patent holdings consist of weak software patents--many of which probably wouldn't hold up under reexamination. I can imagine why the negotiations have failed, but I've also wondered if the FRAND licenses held by component manufacturers like Qualcomm extend to Apple.

Re:Unbalanced

[romiz]

I've also wondered if the FRAND licenses held by component manufacturers like Qualcomm extend to Apple.

It does not. One of my previous employers tried to play this card with the MPEG-LA for digital TV decoders, and in the end they had to settle and pay for the MPEG2 patents. But Apple lawyers may be more skilled and success where others have failed.

Re:I suspect there are more to meet the eyes

[Gumbercules!!]

How are they copying Apple, exactly? By having rounded corners?? I can tell you, there is an enormous difference between a Galaxy S2 and an iPhone or even between Android (which Samsung do not make) and iOS.

Besides - look at the iOS 5 launch video and then look at Android from about 2 years earlier and tell me who is copying who, now? Notifications?!? Apps pushed from the cloud to all your devices?!? Android did those things in 2009 - and it did (and still does) them a lot better. iCloud?

I don't see Google screaming that Apple stole the ideas from them but I do see Apple claiming originality on those very ideas in that launch video, despite the fact Android has done them for a much longer time.

I see a company who has been thoroughly routed on the technology once again and is desperately trying to sue their way clear, rather than innovate their way clear.