Suffering from a lack of direction after the passing of Steve Jobs and continued suicides and protests in their production plants/communities in China, Apple is taking a step back and refocusing their attention. Harkening back to an old Apple adage, "Think Different", reports say new CEO, Tim Cook is taking Apple in a new direction. Sources inside Apple say the company is planning to shift from hardware production to Patent Innovation and Protection.
The dirty little secret is that Apple's legal department grew 42% in the last years under Steve Jobs and where Jobs actually spent the bulk of his remaining time.
In a secret memo, Tim Cook wrote,
"We can't in good conscience continue to build hardware on the backs of those poor Chinese. If we are ever forced to pay those workers what they are worth, we might as well close our doors.
"Our distinctive edge is gone, we lost it years ago. Our OS X is a glorified Linux skin, and our hardware can be purchased from Tiger Direct. All we really do now is build Jetson's style cases. Even our marketing has lost its edge.
"The truth is all that glossy hardware is taking focus away from the real money, suing everyone. Patents are where the real money is.
"All we have to do is 'hire' a few eager graphic designers as summer interns, take the best of their designs, patent the heck out them, and wait for the rest of the world to try and innovate. We'll make a killing!"
China is coming under more and more pressure to force Apple to change. In less that two years China would have required better conditions and pay for their workers. China cares for her citizens more than anyone knows, but up until now they had to play Apple's game.
Now, that China has Apples technology they think they have the upper hand. Apple would have been forced to comply or be forced out of the country. This move towards a Patent-only business model would give Apple the leverage and resources they need to pursue its competitors as well as illegal counterfeits produced in China and elsewhere.
Can we guess what the world will look like without actual Apple products and everyone else afraid to innovate?
That depends on whether Apple patents speculation, next.
