蘋果為什么告三星
????“蘋果公司(Apple)訴三星電子有限公司(Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)一案是很有感染力的訴訟大戲。不過,稱它為大戲實屬明褒實貶,即雖然很有娛樂性和刺激性,但其影響很淺薄,而且不持久。” ????上述語句是Asymco分析師霍拉斯?德迪烏周二發(fā)表的一篇文章的開頭,他列出了六個原因,闡述自己為什么不相信訴訟能解決一家科技公司面臨的問題: ????1)法律程序耗時長久,往往比訴訟相關產(chǎn)品的生命周期還要長; ????2)法律模糊不清; ????3)世界太大,訴訟判決難以執(zhí)行; ????4)賠款金額隨意性太大; ????5)技術細節(jié)極為復雜,令人難以理解; ????6)訴訟成本極為高昂,只有擁有龐大法務團隊的公司才能承擔得起。 ????可是到了文章末尾,德迪烏又意識到了蘋果起訴三星(及摩托羅拉與宏達電)的另一項原因——在我眼中這才是真正的原因:傳遞一種信號。 ????“向競爭對手、合作伙伴、顧客和員工發(fā)出信號,換句話說,訴訟被用來創(chuàng)造心理上的效果。” ????但是德迪烏認為可以有更好的方式來傳遞公司的信號——比如通過廣告或產(chǎn)品本身。 ????可是,蘋果需要傳遞的信號非同一般,不可能靠大打廣告實現(xiàn)。 ????我認為,蘋果起訴三星的真正原因可以在The Loop博客作者吉姆?達爾林普爾8月初、也就是判決之前所發(fā)的一篇文章中找到: ????“蘋果所做的一切事情都是有目的的,包括這起訴訟,”他在這篇題為《蘋果起訴三星的動機》(Apple's motivation for suing Samsung)的文章中寫道。 ????下面是達爾林普爾的解讀: ????毫無疑問,今后幾年內的蘋果將推出數(shù)款設計精巧、或許能顛覆整個行業(yè)的產(chǎn)品。 ????盡管我們目前都還不知道這些到底是什么產(chǎn)品,以及它們是否會像iPhone和iPad那樣具有顛覆性,現(xiàn)在就提前阻止三星符合蘋果的最大利益。這可以有效地威懾三星,因為它是眾多緊隨其后、不斷抄襲其產(chǎn)品的公司中最惡劣的一個典型。 ????當然,贏得這起訴訟還能阻止其他競爭對手抄襲蘋果的設計。 ????蘋果最新兩種變革整個產(chǎn)業(yè)的產(chǎn)品——iPhone和iPad,多年來遭到不知羞恥地抄襲。沒錯,該公司已經(jīng)損失了大量收入——訴訟中的估計值為25億美元——但事實告訴我們,對于擁有1,000億美元左右現(xiàn)金儲備的蘋果來說,這只是小錢。 ????我認為蘋果未來的產(chǎn)品將給業(yè)界帶來巨大的變革,以至于該公司現(xiàn)在就得在三星面前豎起“停”標志。 ????這才是蘋果起訴三星的動機。 ????我覺得這個分析很有道理。 ????譯者:小宇 |
????"Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. makes for powerful courtroom drama. Calling it drama, however, is faint praise. It's entertaining and thrilling but the effects are shallow and they don't last." ????So began Asymco's Horace Dediu in a post Tuesday that listed six reasons he has no faith in litigation as a solution to a tech company's problems: ????1) legal processes are glacial, and tend to take longer than the lives of the products being litigated ????2) the law is ambiguous ????3) the world is too big to enforce the results ????4) the financial awards are arbitrary ????5) the technicalities are bafflingly complex ????6) it is so costly only companies with legal hit squads can afford it. ????But in the end, Dediu comes around to what I believe is the real reason Apple (AAPL) sued Samsung (and Motorola and HTC): to send a signal. ????"Signal to competitors, partners, customers and employees. In other words, they are used to create psychological effects." ????Dediu believes there are better ways to send signals -- through advertising, say, or the products themselves. ????But Apple had a different kind of signal to send, one that couldn't be delivered in an ad. ????The real reason Apple sued Samsung, I believe, is the one The Loop's Jim Dalrymple laid out in early August, before the trial began. ????"Apple has a purpose for everything it does, including this lawsuit," he wrote in a piece entitled Apple's motivation for suing Samsung. ????Here's how Dalrymple saw it: ????There can be no doubt that Apple has some clever, perhaps industry changing products in the pipeline over the next few years. ????Although none us know for sure what those products are, if they are truly disruptive, like the iPhone and iPad, it's in Apple's best interests to stop Samsung now. This will effectively cut off the worst offender of companies copying its products in their tracks. ????Of course, winning the lawsuit will also stop all of the other competitors from copying their designs. ????Apple's latest two industry changing products, the iPhone and iPad, have been shamelessly copied for years. Yes, it's true that the company has lost a significant amount of revenue — estimated at $2.5 billion in the trial — but let's face it, that's pocket change for Apple who has $100 billion or so in the bank. ????I believe that Apple's future products are going to change the industry so much, Apple has to put a stop to Samsung now. ????That's Apple's motive for suing Samsung. ????That sounds about right to me. |
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