A digital patent war between two major smartphone manufacturers just went from bad to ugly.
Tech giant Apple sued Samsung after it accused the Korean company of stealing key patents developed while making the iPhone and iPad.
Apple is the world”s leading smartphone manufacturer, taking up about 30-percent of the market share. When the iPhone debuted in 2007, it instantly revolutionized the cellphone.
In the years since, other developers have attempted to compete. Brands such as Research In Motion (Blackberry), HTC, Samsung and Motorola revamped their designs and aimed to take on the iPhone. Each company has a stake in the market, but it is a mere share of Apple”s takings.
This battle isn”t truly about market share. This battle is about software.
Fellow tech giant Google launched itself into the smartphone market in 2009 with the Android operating system. The system debuted on the Motorola Droid, my previous personal smartphone.
Google partnered with Motorola on the release, with many dubbing it an “iPhone killer,” which it ultimately wasn”t. Believe me, I know.
But Google made Android open-source software, making it free to be utilized by the other smartphone developers without copyright infringement. It quickly became the dominant operating system, making Google a major player in the smartphone market.
Apple, and most importantly Steve Jobs, believed Google stole key elements in the iOS operating system to develop Android. Jobs told his biographer, Walter Isaacson, that Android was a “stolen product” and that he was “willing to go to thermonuclear war on this.”
Because Android is open source, Apple could not go directly after Google and had to sue a manufacturer. So far, the company has filed suit against Samsung and HTC.
On Friday, a San Jose jury ruled that Samsung did infringe on many of Apple”s patents and awarded more than $1 billion in damages.
Rather than waiting for its turn, Motorola, which Google acquired last August, sued Apple for infringing on its patents.
And the great smartphone manufacturer dogfight of the early 21st century just got a lot more interesting.
Google and Apple are two of the most important tech companies in the world, both with numerous achievements.
I feel quite torn by this matter. On one hand, I am a fairly enthusiastic Apple user. I love my MacBook, which I”m typing this out on currently, and my iPod.
But I am not an iPhone user. I enjoy the customization aspect of Android and my HTC Rezound is still treating me pretty well.
As a musician, I understand the need to protect one”s intellectual property. Those patents are simultaneously proof of ingenuity and a meal ticket. If someone is utilizing that without permission, you file suit.
But as a lover of most things tech, I am equally fascinated and appalled by the situation. Every little ruling has a huge impact on what millions of us use on a daily basis.
Both Apple and Google put a lot of work into the operating systems, releasing updates fairly regularly. Developers put a lot of work into releasing new Android smartphones regularly as well.
Since the verdict was announced, Samsung suffered $12 billion in lost shares on the Asian stock market. Apple also asked that many Samsung smartphones and tablets be pulled from the market as well.
These lawsuits might have the potential to remove devices, operating systems or even manufacturers from the smartphone business.
Imagine a world without Android or iPhones. Perhaps it may sound peaceful to many of you. But millions of people, including myself, would be terribly lost in more ways than one.
Whatever the case, this legal drama is only at the beginning. Where it goes from here is anybody”s guess.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14. Follow on Twitter: @KevinNHume.
