Apple is 'Lawyering Up' as Most Sued Company

By Marcus Yam
published

Lots of companies are gunning for Apple.

Apple gets a lot of attention in today's world. While the company is churning out products that the mainstream public enjoy devouring, Apple is also getting the attention of lawyers.

According to BusinessWeek, since 2008, a year after the launch of the first iPhone that arguably kick-started Apple's climb, the Cupertino company has faced more lawsuits than any other tech company in the industry.

Because of that, Apple management is now 'lawyering up' by adding those who have fought and won against companies such as Microsoft, Intel and Broadcom.

Apple this year added an in-house attorney, Noreen Krall, for the purpose of tending to intellectual property litigation. She had previously worked with Sun Microsystems and IBM.

In addition to the in-house help, Apple has also called the help of outside counsel, which even include a lawyer that negotiated a settlement where Apple had to pay $100 million to Creative Technology.

Apple is currently involved in patent battles against HTC, Nokia and Motorola, which center around the mobile technology space.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
26 Comments Comment from the forums
  • webbwbb
    Well of course they are the most sued company in the industry. When you have utter disregard for the intellectual property of others and make billions for it you tend to get sued.
    Reply
  • rantoc
    What is the surprise here ? If they start patent "wars" they have to endure it the other way around - Especially with their tendency to brag about "their" inventions that other really creative companies have already invented years ago...
    Reply
  • bustapr
    I can investigate patents better than the team at Apple, if theres any...
    Reply
  • WR2
    A bit of a surprise to me given Apple's perceived image and self promotion efforts.
    Not exactly the kind of press coverage Apple would hope to see.
    Reply
  • Parrdacc
    I do not know if this is news or comes as a shock to anyone. I mean whoever is at the top is always going to be a target for lawsuits whether they are legit or not. In turn those at the top will sue as well. Just a typical cycle that goes on.
    Reply
  • COLGeek
    I am "so" shocked that anyone would want to do mean things (like sue) to Apple. I mean, heck, they are the bastions of virtue in the computing world....

    I really need to figure out how to type sarcastically........
    Reply
  • Albyint
    Apple is gearing up for a renewed front on the destructive patent wars. Yay more law-suites, less open source and more lunacy from mad man Jobs.

    If i remember correctly, and im sure someone will tell me if i dont, didnt they start this "patent war" and now it seems they are having trouble.
    Reply
  • fullcircle_bflo
    COLGeekI am "so" shocked that anyone would want to do mean things (like sue) to Apple. I mean, heck, they are the bastions of virtue in the computing world....I really need to figure out how to type sarcastically........
    Search the internet for "sarcasm mark" or sarcmarc.
    Reply
  • hemelskonijn
    Without any digits to support these claims its utter useless. In example i would like to know how many cases get settled outside of court for Apple and for instance Microsoft and some other big names. Chances are that Apple just doesn't settle and thus indeed ends up in court way more often. Whatever the supporting data suggest i don't really care but its amazing that claims like these are suggested to be relevant to anything.
    Reply
  • Anomalyx
    fullcircle_bfloSearch the internet for "sarcasm mark" or sarcmarc.I'm pretty sure it's copyrighted - you have to actually buy rights to use it.
    (I'm actually serious about that one)
    Reply