Let me explain…no, there is too much. Let me sum up. Here are a few of the stories making the rounds on Monday morning.
Apple: We’re the patent trolls’ top target, facing 92 lawsuits in 3 years
Beware, patent trolls! Apple’s lawyers have been hard at work, submitting comments on a Federal Trade Commission proposal to collect information on patent assertion entities (PAEs). As you might expect, those folks aren’t very popular with Apple, which says it’s been involved in litigation against them 92 times alone in the past three years, making it the most targeted company in these cases. Apple’s also filed an amicus curiae brief in two Supreme Court cases dealing with patent litigation. Its main argument: that the current test for shifting court fees onto the defendant is unreasonable, and should take into account the merit of the claims, rather than letting PAEs use it as the heavy end of the stick when threatening litigation.
Our Letter to Apple Shareholders
Carl Icahn is back, and this time he’s…giving up? The billionaire investor, whose most recent occupation seems to have been arguing that Apple needs to repurchase more of its shares, faster, faster, faster has conceded in a letter that Apple’s current efforts—including the $14 billion it bought back in the last few weeks—will get close enough to his aims. Which I guess just proves that the squeaky wheel gets the billions of dollars.
Apple Wooed by Arizona as Obama Seeks U.S. Jobs Comeback
More information on how Mesa, Arizona scored the lucrative deal to be the home of Apple’s new synthetic sapphire facility. Shockingly, it was incentives that tipped the scales, including a $10 million grant and tax breaks. Otherwise known as “the cost of doing business.”
Apple’s Tim Cook on Plans for Cash and Emerging Markets
The Wall Street Journal has published edited excerpts from last week’s interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, in which he promised new product categories are on the way. While a lot of what Cook says relates back to his frequent talking points—Apple is still growing and innovating; the company won’t compromise on its vision by making crappy products—the head honcho did offer some tantalizing tidbits. For one, the company won’t make an iPhone with a larger screen “until the technology is ready” (shades of Steve Jobs), Cook wasn’t surprised by Google’s recent sale of Motorola, and Android tablets have a “crappy” experience. Well, he’s not one for pulling punches.
Author: Dan Moren, Contributor
Dan has been writing about all things Apple since 2006, when he first started contributing to the MacUser blog. He's a prolific podcaster and the author of the Galactic Cold War series, including his latest, The Nova Incident.