Apple’s late-CEO Steve Jobs famously told students “don’t settle”, of course he wasn't talking about patents disputes, but had he been, he may well have been turning in his grave after Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts in last night’s financial results conference call that as long as everyone stops copying Apple he’d be happy to: “Get a fair settlement on the stuff that's occurred."
In contrast, Steve Jobs was prepared to go “thermonuclear” over his belief that Google had stolen the idea for Android from the iPhone.
Apple is currently caught up in patent disputes with Motorola (which is being bought by Google), Samsung and HTC. When questioned about how "flexible" he would be about using some of Apple’s $110bn (£68bn) cash pile to settle some of its patent disputes, Cook said: “I’ve always hated litigation, and I continue to hate it.”
He added: "We just want people to invent their own stuff. If we could get into some kind of arrangement where we could be assured that's the case and a fair settlement of the stuff that's occurred, I would highly prefer to settle versus battle," reports the BBC.
Cook went on to emphasize that settlement would only happen as long as: "Apple does not become the developer for the world."
If you want a reminder of that Steve Jobs quote about settling: “ Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don’t settle.
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Comments received
-JC- said on Wed, 25 Apr 2012
I hope this isn't the start of a lame trend of MW pulling quotes made years ago by a man who has died, attempting to draw some kind of unrelatable connection with decisions and events made by people in the present world.
Steve Jobs wasn't Jesus, and he's not here to give his current opinion on things - so let's all move on...
(Sigh)
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