One of the biggest legal battles in the tech world, Samsung v. Apple continues, Reuters is reporting this weekend that current Apple CEO, Tim Cook never wanted to sue their supplier Samsung. According to Reuters in-depth look at the rivalry between the two tech giants, Cook was initially opposed to suing Samsung. Cook’s hesitation stemmed from Samsung’s longtime role as a component supplier for Apple. It was the late Steve Jobs, whose “thermonuclear war” stance on their competitor, Android, has been very well documented was unflinching.
We’ve seen in the courtroom many times already that Apple’s executive team had repeatedly warned the Korean manufacturer that their designs ran very closely to the design of the iPhone and iPad. It became clear Samsung had no intentions of bowing to Apple’s demands, Cupertino ultimately opted to file a lawsuit against their longtime parts supplier.
Since then, Cook has seen the lawsuits through and would rather settle than go to court. He’s stated before that’s his preference with legal disputes like this. “I’ve always hated litigation, and I continue to hate it,” said Cook last year. But Cook has also consistently emphasized that Apple’s competitors need to “invent their own stuff”. Which is clearly a desire to see that happen was more important then his concerns over the existing Apple/Samsung relationship. This relationship still does continue today and is fruitful for both companies. Samsung does still supply processors among other parts for Apple’s mobile products. Including the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
We’ve already seen Apple settle with HTC over a few patents in late 2012. So while actions do speak louder than words, it’s still interesting to see that Tim Cook never wanted to sue his companies largest supplier. But we all know how Steve Jobs felt about Android, even “borrowing” a number of Android’s features in iOS 5 and iOS 6. Including their notification center, which looks and acts a lot like notifications on Android, before Jelly Bean.
Do you really think Tim Cook was against suing Samsung? Let us know what you think in the comments below.