You guys just don't get it. It clearly shows on the first page of their site (http://atomchip.com/) that the Atomic Chip engineers seem to wear their atmospheric suits even in a classroom while working on their cutting edge designs.
Only quantum engineers know that it pays to wear their suits as early as the design process. You guys from the "old chip technology" just don't know that. That's proof to me that the web site is deeply, deeply serious in what it proposes.
The engineer to the right is lead designer, designated by his exposed trouser pants.
David, you made a compelling and logical case about the legality of this case and I agree with you on why it is legally and maybe even morally correct for Apple to sue.
However, besides the strictly legal issues, I want to discuss the more ephemeral, less predictable business case here. You ask wether it is not within Apple's rights to sue if it thinks the leaked information is critical to its business. Well, I think in this case, which first off I must admit I do not know very much about, it looks to me like that being on the right side morally doesn't mean that its the absolute right thing to do for the brand long term.
OK, so Apple has a problem. There are internal moles leaking this information to Websites, and lets go one step further and say that its reasonable to assume that if these moles aren't stopped, they could divulge more and more sensitive information over time. Right.
The question is, what do you do about it. In my opinion, a high profile lawsuit which potentially could even slightly harm your brand is NOT the price one should pay for these leaks. My fear here is that Apple could potentially be paying a PR price here. How valuable is PR as a commodity ? As a former Product Manager I will tell you that PR and what people associate with your brand is very, very important. Companies spend *billions* upon billions just to build up a brand. I am sorry, but the brand *IS* sacred.
So, if I were Apple I would do everything I could to scour the company for these moles. I mean everything. But, keep it internal. Hire private detectives if you must to hunt down the link from these sites to Apple, but keep it internal.
That's how much I value the brand. To protect it and nurture it is of the highest order. To risk dirtying it because of leaks of some products would just not be consistent with that. Just because your legally (or morally) on the right side doesn't mean that its the right or wise thing to do at that moment.
Now, of course companies need to protect themselves, and if a company's existence is threatened it should sue its heart out and I imagine everyone would support it in that endeavor. I suppose that is exactly the crux of the matter. Apple must really think that these leaks constitute a basic, life threatening danger to the company. My opinion is that from the little I have read and seen of these leaks, they are far from that and in my judgment not even worth one thousandth of the Apple image and brand. But that is a business judgment and the people at Apple who made the decision to go to court have much more information than I have to weigh these judgments properly.
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You guys just don't get it. It clearly shows on the first page of their site (http://atomchip.com/) that the Atomic Chip engineers seem to wear their atmospheric suits even in a classroom while working on their cutting edge designs.
Only quantum engineers know that it pays to wear their suits as early as the design process. You guys from the "old chip technology" just don't know that. That's proof to me that the web site is deeply, deeply serious in what it proposes.
The engineer to the right is lead designer, designated by his exposed trouser pants.
David, you made a compelling and logical case about the legality of this case and I agree with you on why it is legally and maybe even morally correct for Apple to sue. However, besides the strictly legal issues, I want to discuss the more ephemeral, less predictable business case here. You ask wether it is not within Apple's rights to sue if it thinks the leaked information is critical to its business. Well, I think in this case, which first off I must admit I do not know very much about, it looks to me like that being on the right side morally doesn't mean that its the absolute right thing to do for the brand long term. OK, so Apple has a problem. There are internal moles leaking this information to Websites, and lets go one step further and say that its reasonable to assume that if these moles aren't stopped, they could divulge more and more sensitive information over time. Right. The question is, what do you do about it. In my opinion, a high profile lawsuit which potentially could even slightly harm your brand is NOT the price one should pay for these leaks. My fear here is that Apple could potentially be paying a PR price here. How valuable is PR as a commodity ? As a former Product Manager I will tell you that PR and what people associate with your brand is very, very important. Companies spend *billions* upon billions just to build up a brand. I am sorry, but the brand *IS* sacred. So, if I were Apple I would do everything I could to scour the company for these moles. I mean everything. But, keep it internal. Hire private detectives if you must to hunt down the link from these sites to Apple, but keep it internal. That's how much I value the brand. To protect it and nurture it is of the highest order. To risk dirtying it because of leaks of some products would just not be consistent with that. Just because your legally (or morally) on the right side doesn't mean that its the right or wise thing to do at that moment. Now, of course companies need to protect themselves, and if a company's existence is threatened it should sue its heart out and I imagine everyone would support it in that endeavor. I suppose that is exactly the crux of the matter. Apple must really think that these leaks constitute a basic, life threatening danger to the company. My opinion is that from the little I have read and seen of these leaks, they are far from that and in my judgment not even worth one thousandth of the Apple image and brand. But that is a business judgment and the people at Apple who made the decision to go to court have much more information than I have to weigh these judgments properly.