Dear Ali & listers,

The Apple vs Qualcomm article (see link #0) that Ali posted is a poorly disguised propaganda hit-piece that attempts to twist the anti-monopoly public-interest agenda to serve big-tech's duplicitous anti-innovation interests (see links #1-2).

Such articles only expose the hypocrisy of "free market" narratives where hypocritical corporations brazenly exploit legal loopholes with unbridled impunity to effect targeted backdoor price controls (or to facilitate asset misappropriation) against their suppliers, for the benefit of a few elites - while aggressively rejecting efforts for similar measures to be taken against themselves, including cases where such measures would clearly be in public interest (see links #2-5).

What is really happening is classic "law-bberry" i.e. corporations abusing the legal system to rob / steal from their suppliers and/or less resourced innovators (see link #6a-6d). Just because something is not expressly prohibited by law, or is too technically complex for judges to make their own objective assessment, or has pedantic ambiguities that can be argued in court over many years (to frustrate / exhaust / bankrupt the petitioners into giving up or settling), does not mean it is right - but corporate lawyers have been encouraged to only care about what is legal - not necessarily what is right for society / humanity, and they get rewarded for promoting the exploitation of grossly unethical loopholes in law and the abuse of court process to defeat the principles / ethos of justice (see links #7-8a).

It boggles the mind that society, in general, can praise, admire and defend high profile THIEVES who steal, not because of hunger, or for want of basic needs, but because they simply can, and because they want to hoard/accumulate more resources than they will ever need in their entire lifetime, to the exclusion of others (i.e. pathological greed - see links #28-35) - but the same society is OK with the brutal lynching  / jailing of petty thieves who steal because of hunger and desperation, and who are in reality UNWITTING VICTIMS of a system that was purposefully designed to deny the low-income majority a proper education and just opportunities (see link #8b). Inability to think critically has turned the global masses into brainwashed zombies who happily worship those who rob and exploit them, whether they are in public, private, or even non-profit sectors (see link #9-12 and #31).

But I digress; going back to Apple vs Qualcomm, lets consider the following insights into Apple's modus operandi when dealing with other people's property rights:

1. In March 2019 a US jury awarded Qualcomm USD $31 Million after finding Apple GUILTY of infringing on Qualcomm patents related to improving mobile phones’ battery life (see link #13);

By the way, "IP infringement" is a PR sanitized term which essentially means THEFT of IP (see link #6a).

2. ~Jan 2019 a US judge upheld a GUILTY verdict against Apple for infringing on (stealing) WiLAN IP (see link #14);

3. In July 2017 Apple was ordered to pay USD $0.5 Billion in damages for stealing IP from University of Winconsin (see link #15a);

4. Apple also stole from Nokia and after a court struggle, settled out of court for USD $2 Billion (a small fine for Apple);

5. Apple (and other big-tech companies) are facing multiple other patent infringement lawsuits. These are not one-off issues, IMO, the numerous cases suggest a pattern or culture of institutionalized thievery, brazen impunity, anti-competition and anti-innovation practices. (see link #6b and #15b-17)

So, is Apple really the champion of public interest that it paints itself to be? Consider the following court cases / rulings:

6. In October 2018, the Italian government fined Apple EUR 10 Million  (and Samsung EUR 5Million) for "dishonest commercial practices" after the companies deployed malware-like OS updates purposefully designed to degrade phone performance, with the apparent motive of tricking customers into purchasing newer models. Both companies denied the alleged motive and offered an arguably nonsensical but technically plausible explanation. (see link #18)

7. May 2019: US Supreme court allowed an anti-trust case against Apple (for anti-competitive iOS App Store practices) to proceed, dealing a blow to the company as it had reportedly sought to have the case dismissed. (see link #19)

8. May 2019: Apple is facing a Class Action law suit for alleged monopolistic / anti-competitive practices and/or exploitative pricing in its Apps store. In 2016, Apple reportedly settled $580 million in a similar case at the US Supreme Court by e-Book publishers. (see link #20)

9. May 2019: Another Class Action lawsuit (reportedly worth $5Billion) has been reportedly filed against apple for alleged privacy infringement. (see link #21)

It will be interesting to see  how the above Class Action and Antitrust cases pan out.

In 2018 (see link #22), Qualcomm reportedly sued Apple for allegedly stealing Qualcomm chip(s) IP, and passing them on to Intel "in order to help Intel make cellular chips that could be used in iPhones at lower prices than those charged by Qualcomm". Apple's defense is that Qualcom has no evidence, to prove their allegations (but Apple has allegedly refused a compliance audit by Qualcomm, in violation of their Master Agreement in which Apple had reportedly agreed to allow Qualcomm to conduct such audits at Apple).

A post reportedly attributed to an ex-Intel employee allegedly states: "We were told to ignore intellectual property rights when designing the modem. There was even a conspiracy to copy Qualcomm's technology by hints from Apple about the 'reference device.' "

Qualcomm further alleges that: "Apple's illegal conduct was calculated and pervasive, particularly among its engineers working with Qualcomm and Intel chipsets."

The case was settled out of court in April 2019, with Apple signing a new contract with Qualcomm, leaving intel with no ready customer for 5G - after which intel promptly announced that it was leaving the Mobile / 5G modem chip market. (see link #23-24)

Apple wants other people's IP on its own terms, and is willing to bend/stretch/break the law in that regard, but is aggressively pro-patent and pro-IP - when it comes to its own IP and products. This duplicity is glaringly obvious - unless one has chosen, for reasons known only to them, to be biased. Numerous examples exist that show Apple aggressively enforcing their patent rights against others, pricing for high margins, leveraging their monopoly position (e.g. iOS appstore or design / utility  Patents) and vigorously protecting their trade secrets by maintaining incredible levels of secrecy about their upcoming products and R&D. In fact Apple is reportedly considered one of the most secretive tech companies in the world (see link #24-27).

If Apple (and similar big-tech corporations) do not want to pay innovators for their intellectual property, why do they not invest in their own R&D? Large, profitable companies don't have a cash / investor problem. Neither do they have a talent problem (they can afford the best of the best). So why abuse the legal system to facilitate what could be termed as white collar robbery (law-bberry)? I think they are doing it, not because they have to, but because consequences are relatively minor and they can get away with it (see links #6d). It's malevolence for it's own sake. Corporate psychopathy. (see links #28-30)

Scientists now know that corporate reward systems tend to promote the rise of ruthless psychopaths into leadership positions (see links #28-35) and that could explain why stealing from suppliers, corrupt practices, state capture, child labor, wage slavery, toxic pollution and other ruthless anti-society behavior is tolerated, encouraged and rewarded in the corporate world - provided it can be done "legally" either by exploiting regulatory/jurisdictional loopholes (e.g. option for financial settlement for crimes against society rather than jail terms), or lobbying to create such loopholes through corruption / state capture, while whitewashing their bad behavior with media PR, CSR and hypocritical "good deed Foundations". (see link #31)

Wake up. Let's call out malevolent psychopathy for what it really is; call out the harms that it does to society; collectively push back against it and refuse to celebrate or admire ruthless psychopathic/sociopathic entities (whether people or corporations) just because they use their ill-gotten wealth to project the opulence, glitz and glamor that society has been brainwashed to aspire for. Let us insist on injecting ETHICS into the definition of success. Questions about the path taken, the net human impact, the "collateral damage", and the legitimacy of claims to moral authority - should be more important than the destination / wealth accumulated.

Instead of supporting token CSR and "good deed foundations", let us ask corporations to do the right things in the first place and avoid malevolence its own sake (or for profit), so that society will have no need for charity to cosmetically patch-up societal problems/burdens that the same corporations create.

Have a pleasant, but hopefully thoughtful evening!

Patrick A. M. Maina.
[Cross-domain Innovator | Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations]

Links / References:

0. (Propaganda hit piece) How Qualcomm shook down the cell phone industry for almost 20 years

1. How big tech designs its own rules of ethics to avoid scrutiny and accountability

2. Apple Patent lawsuits are hypocritical

3. America's Hypocrisy on Free  Trade

4.Policy Analysis: Silicon Valley has a problem with IP. And it won't grow up

5. Obama's Apple patent Pardon reflects global IP hypocrisy

6a. Patent Infringement is THEFT plain and simple

6b. Patent Theft as a busines strategy (Efficient Infringement)

6c. How Corporations, Governments and Trial Lawyers Abuse the Judicial Process

6d. Why it may be time to provide criminal remedies for patent infringement

7a. Business ethics: What's legal isn't always ethical

8a. Legal and Illegal is not (equivalent to) Right and Wrong

8b. Chomsky: How public education promotes and sustains general ignorance

10. Why people engage in White Collar Crime

11. Toward an Integrated Theory of White-Collar Crime

12. Harvard Business Review: Understanding White Collar Crime

13. Apple violated 3 Qualcomm patents, (US) jury finds

14. Court upholds that Apple stole WiLAN IP.

15a. Why Apple's Patent Infringement Matters

15b. Criticism of Apple

16. Wiki: Apple inc. Litigation

17. UK court says apple's apology to Samsung was dishonest and misleading (orders Apple to pay Samsung's full legal fees)

18. Italy fines Apple and Samsung for slowing down older phones

19. Supreme court rules against Apple in an Appstore antitrust suit (allows it to proceed)
21. A $5 Billion Class Action reportedly Filed against Apple Alleges they Sold Private Customer Data and Song lists to Data Aggregators

22. Apple accused of stealing Qualcomm chip secrets and giving them to Intel

23. Intel says Apple-Qualcomm surprise settlement pushed it to exit mobile 5G modems

27. Inside Apple: One of the most secretive organizations in the world

28. Book overview: Snakes in Suits - by Paul Babiak (industrial psychologist) and Robert Hare (criminal psychologist)

29. Visionaries or False Prophets - Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice (2013)

30. The Psychological Profile of White Collar Offenders
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254082375_The_Psychological_Profile_of_White-collar_Offenders

31. Winner take all: The elite charade of changing the world - Anand Giridharadas (2018)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danpontefract/2019/05/07/winners-take-all-the-elite-charade-of-changing-the-world-review/#56958a9a7d72

32. Are corporations inherently psychopathic?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/machiavellians-gulling-the-rubes/201605/are-corporations-inherently-psychopathic

33. Beware the Corporate Psychopath
https://www.icsa.org.uk/knowledge/governance-and-compliance/features/beware-the-corporate-psychopath

34. Forbes: The Disturbing Link between Psychopathy and Leadership
https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2013/04/25/the-disturbing-link-between-psychopathy-and-leadership/#75d331274104

35. Wiki: Psychopathy in the workplace
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy_in_the_workplace


---------------------------------------

On Thursday, June 6, 2019, 7:43:14 AM GMT+3, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:


Listers

A look at how modern-day monopolies operate and how Systemic Failure in how regulators regulate can cause a player to use heavy-handed tactics to gain and maintain Market Dominance.

Is it time to relook at how State Players navigate the increasingly complicated Technology Landscape to ensure Market Driven Monopolies don't abuse their powers? 

The examples are many but of note are:-

1. Microsoft in the '90s
2. Google and Facebook in the 2010s
3. And now Qualcomm whose bad behaviour is now coming to light in a scathing indictment by Judge Lucy Koh in an Anti-Trust ruling in the US.

This latest misbehaviour by #BigTech calls the whole 'Free Market' ethos of the Capitalist System to question. How will the world deal with such Systemic Failure and State Capture by huge multinationals? The Qualcomm Story  is even more shocking in its scope because it held to ransom some of the biggest players in the Global Telcom sector - From Lenovo, to Apple to Blackberry to Samsung. It is amazing how it took so long to unravel and even now as we speak the game is not over yet.

Read on:-

In 2005, Apple contacted Qualcomm as a potential supplier for modem chips in the first iPhone. Qualcomm's response was unusual: a letter demanding that Apple sign a patent licensing agreement before Qualcomm would even consider supplying chips.

How Qualcomm shook down the cell phone industry for almost 20 years! 


Ali Hussein

Principal

AHK & Associates

 

Tel: +254 713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

Skype: abu-jomo

LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim


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