Will Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) sue Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)? Right now Google chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt is scratching his head about why Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) seems to be suing every company connected to Google, except Google itself.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Schmidt said it was “extremely curious” that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has sued all of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Android partners, but not Google itself. Apple has recently filed patent lawsuits against various partners of Android, like HTC and Samsung, and unfortunately, Schmidt said he doesn’t expect the string of lawsuits between Android manufacturers and Apple to be over anytime soon.
At one point, Apple and Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) were so close that Schmidt used to joke that they should merge the two companies and form one under the name “AppleGoo.” But unfortunately, now they just can’t seem to get along anymore. In fact, Schmidt went so far as to tell The Journal that they have been “sending bombs at each other.” Steve Jobs himself made it his mission in life to “destroy Android because it’s a stolen product,” as he supposedly said. And apparently, the company he co-founded has taken his personal vendetta to heart, so to speak.
First Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) dumped Google’s mapping software, which resulted in a much-hated Apple mapping app for iOS6, which the company is now scrambling to fix so that it can win back users. And then, Apple dumped YouTube from its home screen, which most analysts agree worked out better for Google in the long run, because the company no longer has to deal with all of the restrictions Apple previously put on its own YouTube app, which barred advertisements and kept control of the interface away from Google.
So why is Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) left out of the legal party Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) seems to be throwing for all of its Android partners? Speculations abound, with one of the main reasons likely being the fact that Apple is much easier able to bully smaller companies, like those that make the Android phones, rather than the monstrous Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). Also, Google itself doesn’t make a ton of money off of the Android phones, so they payout from suing them would be a lot smaller for Apple.
