Skip to main content

Steve Jobs “initiated contact” with Samsung to resolve patent woes (to no avail)

Samsung, the second largest supplier for Apple, was contacted by Steve Jobs in July of 2010 over a patent dispute that had already threatened to degrade the two company’s lucrative supplier-buyer relationship, Bloomberg reports:

Jobs wasn’t involved once the ultimately unsuccessful talks over the Galaxy smartphone began, Richard Lutton, a senior director at Apple and the company’s patent attorney, told Federal Court in Sydney today.

Responding to Samsung lawyer David Catterns, Apple’s patent attorney and senior director Richard Lutton said:

Samsung is an important supplier with whom we have a deep relationship. We wanted to give them a chance to do the right thing.

But even the famed Steve Jobs reality-distortion field would fail to persuade Samsung to “do the right thing”. In fact, the Korean conglomerate did what was right for them: They doubled down on Android with Galaxy-branded smartphones and tablets, sending Apple through the roof and prompting them to take Samsung to court.

The two former industry partners are now embroiled in twenty legal proceedings in nine countries around the world (the latest on the Apple vs. Samsung saga: herehere and here). Apple even went as far to refer to Samsung in court documents as “the copyist”. A cool infographic we included below the fold offers a side-by-side overview of Apple and Samsung product aspects that have a ‘familiar’ feel to it, found on Reddit.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel