“In March 2010, Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs and Google Inc.’s Eric Schmidt — both CEOs at the time — were spotted having coffee and a chat outside at a Palo Alto cafe,” Therese Poletti reports for MarketWatch.
“Many in the press, including yours truly, surmised the coffee klatch was a publicity stunt, designed to create the impression of a detente between the two feuding companies,” Poletti reports. “Schmidt had left (or was asked to leave) Apple’s AAPL -0.27% board after Google got more involved in smartphones in 2009. A few weeks earlier before that March meeting, Apple had sued smartphone maker HTC, alleging its Android phones infringed on 20 Apple patents, copying the look and feel of the iPhone.”
“Now, with the publication by Simon & Schuster of Walter Isaacson’s widely anticipated biography, ‘Steve Jobs,’ it’s clear that Jobs was not at the cafe to let bygones be bygones,” Poletti reports. “Jobs told his biographer he had a discussion with Schmidt to let him know he was not going to negotiate any kind of settlement for patent infringement.”
“‘I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product,’ Jobs told Isaacson. ‘I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.’ That meeting was requested by Schmidt,”Poletti reports. “But during the meeting Jobs’s main point was asking Google to stop copying the iPhone features in Android.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Steve Jobs: ‘I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product; I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this’ – October 20, 2011
Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt spotted drinking coffee in Palo Alto (with photo) – March 27, 2010
Unfortunately, it is not in the stage of penalties or settlements.
So either USA patent system will ultimately discredit itself as useless, or wonder will happen and IP theft will be actually punished.
But do not hold your breath for fair resolution. Too much monetary interests are against Apple. And since patent system is so slow, courts have much harder time siding with Apple since things that were impossible to imagine back in 2006-2007 now seem to be “common place”.
If Apple would receive its patents quicker, then the chances to win in court for Apple would be higher.
You’re right. Google is like a modern day Robin Hood. A benefactor for the downtrodden masses that can only afford to pay less for smartphones. Apple won’t be allowed to disrupt such unselfish generosity of Google and the wonderfully free Android OS.
Apple is already considered a greedy, cruel and selfish company for charging as much as they do for iPhones. I’m sure the courts feel that taking away Android is like asking mankind to pay homage to an evil, greedy despot (Apple). Oracle and Apple appear to have lost all chances of winning against Google and Android in the courts.
Mr. Spock had stated, “The good of the many outweighs the good of the few.” That’s how the courts also see it.
Hey Clueless Boy
How come iPhones are cheaper than Android phones when purchased with a contract in the US?
Inferior phone, higher price – that’s the Android way!
Well said my friend, well said!
+10
Wow. Just “wow”. What an incredibly twisted perception. FYI – we do not live in a communist state as much as you apparently wish we did.
When you post something sarcastic, it’s a good thing to say so, because otherwise people aren’t gonna get it, no matter ho over the top you might be.
——RM
Now you know how the ANAL-ists make up stories. They reported that there was some kind of reconciliation going on between these two, while their judgement was far from truth.
The only benefactor of the loss of Steve Jobs might be Google, because no one would have stopped Steve from spending every last dime of that $80 billion based on principle alone.
I suspect that as much clout as Tim Cook has at Apple, a board of directors answering to shareholders might, at some point, “talk some sense” into Tim if he goes after Google with the tenacity that Jobs would have.
Which makes me sad, because I could care less how much money Apple has as long as they keep banging out awesome new products every year. Would even be sort of fun to see a mega corporation like Google get smacked silly for its indiscretions.
Because of the principle, I don’t associate with android users, and I let them know that it is a stolen product at every turn.
And I don’t do business with google in any shape or form. They are dead to me like Microsoft became in the 1990s.
See how that turned out?
Patent litigation is expensive, but not THAT expensive. They’ll spend $millions, no doubt, but that’s just a rounding error when you have $80B in the bank. And this remains so whether they pursue a few cases or every case in every jurisdiction where they have claims and standing to do it (the thermoneuclear option).
Apple’s thermonuclear weapon will be Siri. Google and Microsoft have already felt the initial tremor that their search business will be impacted in future, if not, it’s just beginning.
Tim Cooke declared all of war against anyone ripping off Apple Ip when he first stood in for Jobs. He has very intention of continuing on that track and has the fulll support of Apple investors and Apple’s board unanimously.
Yup, and he has been even more public about going after those who violate Apple’s IP than Steve Jobs was. I don’t doubt for a second that Tim Cook will continue to wage this war, and probably even escalate it.
Tim Cook is a man of principle, he was clearly very close to Steve and enjoyed more trust and support from Steve than anyone else ever (in business) from what I see. Tim will continue the fight on principle alone and eventually win.
Tim is also very pragmatic, his vision transformed Apples Manufacturing, inventory, & cash flow from problems to a market leading excellence. He understands the end game and how to get there. As long as he can keep the creatives and top engineering minds at Apple they will dominate well into the future. There was good reason Jobs picked him.
I predict Googles doom long before Microsoft.
It is all too easy to forget that all larger companies have permanent legal staff to fight various claims on intellectual property both within and outside the U.S.
Smaller companie’s often do the same to try to protect their “new” products which are the lifeblood of growth.
Without patents, a bully like Sony or Google just rolls over the small guy with no way to protect their often multi-year expensive development of new products.
The founders of the country understood this, which is why we have patents and I am sure that is one reason the US prospered with innovation throughout its history particularly with the practical implementation electrical devices starting after the civil war.
We are blessed to have the patent system.
You are mistaken if you think the US, or any country got big because of IP laws (copyrights, patents, etc).
Back in the day, British theatre and books were routinely ripped off by Americans, leading to the rise of New York’s broadway and publishing industry. Then when they got rich and powerful, they lobbied and got laws protecting and enforcing their IP, including the newfangled audio and motion picture tech, from upstarts. The upstarts ripped off the technology and moved all the way west, where eastern laws couldn’t touch them, and we got Hollywood and the recording industry. Now of course they form powerful lobby groups like RIAA and MPAA, and as middlemen of course rip off both sides (consumers and less influential artists/producers alike).
The Japanese, post-WWII until maybe the 70s, and now China and Korea, are just following in the wildly successful model history has shown them: ignore IP laws of others until you’re big and successful enough to buy and enforce IP laws that benefit you.
I see another Tsar Bomba on the horizon….
Tsar Bomba? Phft! ‘Tis but a mere firecracker compared to the ordinance Apple is going to unleash in the coming months.
=:~)
I’ve had worse.
Apple needs to protect and fight for their IP. If they don’t and the US Gov. defend the Asian cloners and that thief Google then all hope is lost. Why bother innovating and creating axing products when no class companies like Google and Asian companies can just copy all they want without fear.
A war! Sounds interesting. But in my opinion, it won’t be necessary at the moment.
Considering smart phones alone, I think Apple will eventually kill Android on its own. One of the reasons people buy Android devices (that I see) is its lower price tag. On the other hand, a brand new iPhone originally costs $199.
But if we glance at Apple’s phone products now we see:
iPhone 4S – $199.99 (with contract)
iPhone 4 – $99.99 (with contract)
iPhone 3GS – Free (with contract)
The strategy Apple has layer out will cover higher class consumers, lower class consumers, and middle class consumers. With this strategy and knowing how popular the phone is, more and more people are most likely to transfusion from their current phone to an iPhone that they can afford.
So, if this strategy fails to ultimately destroy Android, then and only then would I consider having this war that Jobs spoke of.
I don’t know how Google can defend itself, with Eric Schmidt sitting on Apple’s Board of Directors during the development of iPhone. Google has created a whore of all smart devices, in its Operating System, the hord of OEM hardware differences will dilute it functionality and lead to its death. Not to mention all the hardware OEMs it will pull down with it for ripping off the insamely great vision of Steve Jobs and Apple. Shame on you Eric Schmidt, I am sure your day of judgement is coming….
Just reading that line from the book, makes me smile.
“I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product” ~ Steve Jobs.