Thermonuclear
Jim Dalrymple over at The Loop posted what I’ve been thinking since Apple’s decisive victory over Samsung last week:
Because it was so blatant in its copying, Samsung was the most obvious target and allowed Apple to set precedent for its patents. That was the precursor to going thermonuclear.
Google says its not worried about the verdict because “most of these [patents] don’t relate to the core Android operating system.” However, as Seth Weintraub points out, some of the patents relate directly to Google, like the rubber band effect.
Google should be worried. Steve Jobs’ thermonuclear promise is coming.
So, let’s be super clear: Apple won a decisive victory, but yeah, it didn’t get everything it wanted, damage-wise.
My feeling says the precursor is exactly the right word: imbued with even more confidence, Apple now gets to set its sight to … where?
Google seems like the next target —if Jobs’s thermonuclear dictum is still a cultural directive in Cupertino.
Will be very interesting to see how this plays out. Let’s recall what Jobs said about Android, which was detailed in Walter Isaacson’s Jobs bio:
“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” Jobs said. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”
“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.”
Being in the mobile phone business today means you have to have (a) lots of cash and/or (b) a deep patent portfolio. Weird times.
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