Tim Cook opposed Samsung battle over patents

The battle between Apple and Samsung has been long drawn out, and still continues however the latest news to hit would indicate that Tim Cook (now the CEO) was against the legal action against Samsung.

Tim Cook took over the reigns when Steve Jobs died, but new reports say that he was against suing Samsung, mainly because the company were a key supplier of components for the iPhone and iPad. Sources ‘with knowledge of the matter' spoke to Reuters.

Apple were Samsung's biggest customer in 2011, buying $8 billion worth of screens and processors. The relationship started well in 2005, when Apple bought flash memory from Samsung and Jobs invited the grandson of Samsung's founder to his home in Palo Alto. A strong relationship was built.

After the launch of the Galaxy S in 2010, Jobs and Cook complained to Samsung executives about the look and feel of the smartphone which they felt was copying the iPhone. They had expected that Samsung would redress their concerns and change the product enough under their advisement.

When Samsung released the Galaxy Tab, Jobs apparently was less than impressed. They filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung in April 2011 to try and ban some Samsung devices from sale in America. They did win a $1 billion lawsuit in August 2011. The case is still running however as Apple failed to get the products banned from sale.

Lucy Koh, the district judge said “Samsung may have cut into Apple's customer base somewhat, but there is no suggestion that Samsung will wipe out Apple's customer base, or force Apple out of the business of making smartphones. The present case involves lost sales — not a lost ability to be a viable market participant.”

Apple were apparently wanting to avoid the courtroom, proposing a reciprocal patent agreement to Samsung in the months before the landmark trial, but the two companies couldn't agree on the terms.

When relationships broke down completely Apple took the move of trying to get exclusive access to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, making an investment offer of more than $1 billion. The offer was rejected and Apple didn't get an immediate option to reduce their dependance on Samsung components.

Kitguru says: Many people say that Tim Cook is much more level headed than Steve Jobs.

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