Topic of Case:

Apple Inc: Story of Technology Management and Patent Wars.

Project Members:
Rajarshi Das
Aparupa Das
Arunava Banik
Sourav Roy

Under the guidance of:

Prof. Sanjib Biswas
Prof. Indranil Ghosh

..
The contents of the case report is declared as genuine content.
The declaration is made by the above stated authors of the case.

Introduction:
A world without Apple could seem quite distant from our current reality.
Apple is a versatile company investing their brains in the computer industry- their history
starting with a $2495 worth Macintosh in 1984 (128 k capacity) - a stepping stone for the
personal PC industry.
It was followed by a Macintosh portable (1989) their first attempt at portable computers,
introduced to the market at $6500.
It was succeeded by power book in 1991 containing futuristic features like room for palm vest
track ball and a 10 inch color screen.
They also changed their chip supply from Motorola to PowerPC. The Macworld Expo witnessed
the return of Steve Jobs and the public declaration of Apples allegiance with Microsoft in 1997.
It was followed by iMac and iBook (with LAN).
In the meantime Mac-OSX and Apples store has been developed. In response to poor marketing
campaigns Apple decided to open its own retail chain.
Apple concurred the consumer electronics market with introduction of iPod, iTunes store, iPad,
iPhone.
After establishing themselves as one of the leading market player in the industry they have
investments in software solutions, networking, computer peripherals and consumer accessories
(Apple watch).
Such a constant stream of innovation, destructive even in certain cases, fueled by investments in
R&D, leaders employing innovative culture, effective technology management and planning for
future product line, ensured Apple to have a total of 2003[1] patents at their disposal and a
valuation of 246.99[2] Billion USD.
In 2007, for iPhone release - Apple filed 124 applications of designed patents, with Steve Jobes
amongst half of that figures as co-inventor.

[1] http://www.engadgeted.com/2015/01/12/apple-patent-holdings-in-2014-increased-by-nearly-13/
[2] http://www.statista.com/statistics/267966/brandvalues-of-the-most-valuable-technology-brands-in-the-world/

Total range of products include:

Video service-iTunes, Web software-Quick Time, E books-iBook, Mobile advertising-iAd, Cloud
service-MobileMe, Operating System-OSX, HDTV-Apple TV, Tablet-iPad, Browser-Safari,
Navigation-Place Base, Portable media player-iPod, Office-iWork, Apple store-iTunes, Gaming
app store-iTunes[3]

Patent infringement case: Apple/Samsung duel

2010 August:
Apple issues Samsung warning for patent infringement at the time, Samsung was supplier of
Apple.
2010 October:
A failed meeting continued the dispute into the future.
2011 April:
Lawsuit and countersuit. Apple sued Samsung for design copy resulting in Samsung returning
the favor in 3G technology patents.
2011 August-September: reverse supply chain:
Products were taken off shelves temporarily with Apple filing patent infringement cases
regarding Samsungs Galaxy 10.1 Tab. Only country to have ban held was Germany, in response
to an EU conjunction.
2012 August: spoils of war:
Apple was awarded 1 billion$ worth of damages with 26 Samsung products infringing their
patents.

..
[3] - http://www.appmicrosoftgoogle.blogspot.com/

2013 March:
With the jury having earlier calculated incorrect damages, a corrected figure of 240 million $ was
awarded for damages to Apple.
But without gaining any ability on banning Samsung sales in US, ongoing litigations will
continue to drain Apple, who needs to reform its patent tug of war with Samsung.

SWOT:
STRENGTH
Exceptional brand loyalty due unparalleled quality. Mobile device innovator- a growing global
industry. Heavy bank balance with no debts. Aesthetics and design of products. Personal retail
store. Efficient marketing team. R&D expenditure high with large number of patents held with a
strategy of differentiation.
WEAKNESS
Price disparity exists, Internal OS, Patent infringement cases, Continuous management structure
variations
OPPURTUNITY
Global demand for products and services, Application industry, Networking industry, cloud
based services. Growth of mobile industry. Obtaining or acquiring patents and companies. Patent
infringement damages owned. Growth of mobile advertising market. Capitalize on market
opportunities for joint ventures or strategic allegiance for risk mitigation of future projects.
THREAT
Ongoing patent war is a waste of time and effort for an innovative company like Apple. Overall
increase of tax following tax reforms of 2013 in USA will negate Apples profitability. Partner
pay hike Pay package increase of Foxconn workers, who are primary manufactures (OEM) of
Apple and it will further push up market prices of Apple gadgets. Already breached Intellectual
Property rights - for and by Apple, both negatively continue to affect the company on court cases
are tedious and takes years for a proper form of collateral. Samsung: Apples current competitor
already ahead in patent race and setting in class. They are eating up Apples market share.
Android : android is a developing market leader; it takes up all the market shares of Apple.
Online media threat: music stores like Amazon, Walmart /other music subscription companies eg
Spotify.

TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT:
Study of Influential Leaders of Apple and their strategic decisions:
(1983-1993) John Sculley joins Apple
Problem faced: product caused market confusion
Solution: utilize PowerPC chip
Criticism: failed to capitalize on Intel chips
(1993-1996) Michael Splinder appointed as CEO
Problem faced:
Sales drop, profit decrease, market share decrease (14%10%)
Measures taken:
Cutting labor cost: Attrition of 2500 workers, freezing of salaries (executive), abandoning sealed
products, reducing R&D expenditure, marketing strategy change with organization
reorganization
Criticism: measures locked empathy and caused Apple to lose some of its goodwill in the market.
(1996-1997)Gilbert Annelio replaced Splinder
Problems faced: same
Measures taken: same
Criticism: similar measures were guaranteed to fail.
(1997-2011) Steve Jobs (advisor)
Problems: same
Measures: presents the - iPod(2001), iTunes(2003), iPhone(2007), iPad(2010), reintroduced
IMac(sleeker, smaller with MacOS-X).
Reward: Regained Apples brand loyalty in terms of quality of product, service and established a
foothold in the teen market. Radical innovation of Apple was the entry of Apple along with other
web based for capturing online market, a booming industry (using music/media subscription,
text, document, picture as album art, etc.).

FUTURE SCOPE:
Apples future would depend upon the proper application of technology management centralized
along the key fortes of - development of OLED Technology, development of Li-Fi Technology,
development of Accessories (portable/wearable) market & development of their secretive Titan
Project (ultimate electric car, rumored to be under approval of Tim Cook and is currently in
development phase).
Technology management is set of management disciplines that allows organizations to manage their technological
fundamentals to create competitive advantage.
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_management )

OLED:
Bendable devices offer a new market, waiting to be exploited. Advancements in such
technologies continue to be made daily especially in OLED technology (display and printing
purposes).
Organic Light Emitting Diodes are flat light emitting technology by placing a series of thin films
that are carbon based in between of two conductors in a closed circuit.[4]
With the application of electrical current light is emitted.
Advantage of this technology is energy efficiency and high flexibility with structural integrity.
Disadvantage of this technology is current vulnerability to water and air particulates exposure or
contamination. Construction of OLED devices require cost ineffective processes.
Maybe one day with discovery of cheap ways of construction of OLED devices, we will witness
Apple acquire such technology to develop highly flexible devices.
LI-FI:
Method of transfer of data by flickering of LED on light sensor.[5]
Benefit of this technology is high speed form of data transfer with energy efficiency and low
cost.
Effective future application would be large data transfer or huge number of network devices
connected with no latency. Blue disk versions of High-definition movies would theoretically
download in a matter of few seconds.
Such a disruptive technology would make even Wi-Fi obsolete as it is over 100 times faster and
could be a topic of interest for innovation strategy of many tech kings like Apple.

[4] - http://www.cnet.com/news/led-lighting-is
[5] - http://ijarcsse.com/docs/papers/Volume_5

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Management Of Technology Khalil
Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation - Robert Burgelman, Clayton Christensen,
Steven Wheelwright
The Management of Technological Innovation - Mark Dodgson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_management
http://www.engadgeted.com/2015/01/12/apple-patent-holdings-in-2014-increased-by-nearly-13/
http://www.statista.com/statistics/267966/brandvalues-of-the-most-valuable-technology-brandsin-the-world/
http://www.appmicrosoftgoogle.blogspot.com/
http://www.cnet.com/news/led-lighting-is
http://ijarcsse.com/docs/papers/Volume_5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLED
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li-Fi
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/16/tech/innovation/apple-page-turn-patent/