Apple to pay US$100m to Creative in settlement
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In life and business, it's better to have a new friend than a new enemy.Originally posted by apoc.feuer:I see this as Apple's preventive measure (To work with Creative) for the upcoming M$ MP3 player (Zune)...although we don't know how good the respond for M$ MP3 player (Zune), Apple should be prepared for a new guy invading their MP3 market... -
Its obvious Apple is a guilty party.Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:Unexpected, thought Creative might end up paying. A nice ending to this case.
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Oh, So you support copycat companies?Originally posted by ShutterBug:Hmmm...
Creative has taken to suing others for profits- how pathetic.
Reminds me of our gov. -
also hor,how apple gonna fork out that 100m,or the years of ipod sales effort had juz gone to waste ???
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dude- Bought!Originally posted by kingofbeholder:hahaha for people hate creative so much and brought Ipod...
YOU'VE PAID TO CREATIVE WHEN YOU BROUGHT IPOD.
tak tak tak
uncle sim : thank you very much
I buy Ipod. I Bought Ipod!
gakgakgak
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all of your ipod are bought at apple and paid to creative..
vicious cycle.. -
$100m is nothing to apple.Originally posted by Diesel_Dimension:also hor,how apple gonna fork out that 100m,or the years of ipod sales effort had juz gone to waste ??? Like fine Bill gates $3billion for using pirated windows xp in his own home. -
Reference: http://news.com.com/Apple+settles+with+Creative+for+100+million/2100-1047_3-6108901.html?tag=nefd.top
"$100 million is a pittance compared to the $1.5 billion in revenue Apple garnered on iPod sales just in the last quarter"
=> Apple one quarter revenue already so much
"Apple can get back some of the $100 million payment if Creative is able to secure licensing deals with other MP3 player manufacturers"
=> So, Creative will have to ask other MP3 manufacturer for payment?
"As part of the agreement, Creative will also enter Apple's Made for iPod program as an authorized seller of iPod accessories. Creative will be able to affix the "Made for iPod" logo to its speakers, headphones and other related products"
=> Creative need to pay Apple for every unit sold
"Creative reported a $12.7 million loss on slowing sales for its fourth quarter. The company expects the $100 million settlement to add 85 cents to its earnings per share figures for its current quarter."
=> Can cover up the loss, shows the importance of patent
But more importantly, Creative need to profit from Zen-line of mp3 players.
Apple still winning the MP3 player war, wait till Zune arrives, more choices for consumers => price goes down? -
tats how businessmen protect their businesses, be it small or big companies...
things like patents, trademark uses, copyrights are to protect companies own unique ideas or products -
still sticking with my ipod.
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100m will not "un-suck" Creative mp3 players.
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Can make shareholders happy temporarilyOriginally posted by missqi:100m will not "un-suck" Creative mp3 players. -
I took a module on IP before and lecturer told us small companies holding 'killer patents' are very dangerous to big companies.Originally posted by kingofbeholder:it not the money issue.
both know they will not settle easily if they continue playing court.
If I'm not wrong, the damages are measured in relation to the infringing company. It doesn't matter if the company holding the patent is very small.
If Apple lost her counter-suit, she hon gan liao .. 'cos her Ipods are so successful in the market. -
Originally posted by numby:tats how businessmen protect their businesses, be it small or big companies...
things like patents, trademark uses, copyrights are to protect companies own unique ideas or products -
when did creative apply and granted the patent?Originally posted by numby:tats how businessmen protect their businesses, be it small or big companies...
things like patents, trademark uses, copyrights are to protect companies own unique ideas or products
wait for 20 years lor .. for the technology to enter public domain .. then dun have to pay a single cent to use it. -
hey .. bill gates dun have that much money you know? 3 billion is dunno how many % of his asset liao.Originally posted by ditzy:$100m is nothing to apple. Like fine Bill gates $3billion for using pirated windows xp in his own home. -
Oh, I'm pretty sure he has that much money, $3billion is only the dividend microsoft is giving him.Originally posted by Icemoon:hey .. bill gates dun have that much money you know? 3 billion is dunno how many % of his asset liao.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/corpgov/2004/07/22/cx_da_0722topnews.html -
US$100m might be a small amt to APPLE but the damage done by losing the lawsuit against CREATIVE not small...can make public lose trust in the company itself
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Thursday August 24, 6:44 PM
Investors cheer iPod decision but Creative's woes far from over
Investors have cheered Creative Technology's 100 million US dollar settlement from rival Apple Computer but analysts warned the Singapore company's troubles are from over.
The companies earlier settled a dispute over patented technology used by the US company in its best selling iconic iPod music players resulting in Creative's share price enjoying a bumper ride on the stock market.
Creative's shares surged to as high as 13.20 Singapore dollars (8.40 US), or 37.5 percent, in morning trade Thursday. The shares soon came off their highs and closed at 11.40 dollars, still up 1.8 dollars, or 18.8 percent from the previous day.
However, analysts said the loss-making Singapore company faces an uphill battle to get its business back on track after investing heavily in the last two years to challenge Apple's dominance in the MP3 music player market.
"Their cost structure is still too high, they are still losing money," said Claudio Checchia, a regional research manager with International Data Corp.
"They still have to go a long way to improving their own cost structure and trying to get sales high," he told AFP.
Jonathan Ng, a technology analyst with CIMB brokerage, said the settlement has cleared the uncertainty of a possible long legal battle.
"However, the settlement does not change our negative view on its core businesses. Demand for its audio products have been waning, and competition for the MP3 player market has intensified.
"We still cannot find any new 'killer' products from Creative that could help revive strong earnings recovery in the near term."
Ng however raised his fair value for Creative by 1.85 dollars to 10.50 dollars per share and upgraded the brokerage's rating on the stock to a "trading buy" due to the windfall from the settlement.
He also increased his year-to-June 2007 net profit estimate for Creative to 99.40 million US dollars from a previous forecast for loss of 600,000 US dollars.
Under the deal Apple will pay Creative 100 million dollars for a license to use the technology and would be able to recover some of the money if Creative licensed the patent to others, according to the companies.
Creative would also begin marketing its own line of iPod accessories as part of Apple's "Made for iPod" program.
Creative chairman and chief executive Sim Wong Hoo said in a statement the settlement with Apple "opened up significant new opportunities" for his company.
The firm's participation in the "made for iPod" program should provide market opportunities for Creative's speaker systems, headphones and the future family of X-Fi audio enhancement products, Sim said.
"It is definitely going to bolster the fact that Creative does have superior technology... It shows that it is a technology company, just that Apple has more superior marketing," said DBS Vickers analyst Don See said, noting that the Singapore firm was strong in headphones and speaker systems design.
The deal ended a legal battle that began earlier this month after Creative was awarded what it referred to as a "Zen patent" on technology used to select and sort songs in its Zen MP3 player.
In May, Creative filed a lawsuit and a patent complaint in the United States against Apple aimed at halting the import and sale of the allegedly infringing Apple iPod and iPod Nano products in the giant US market.
Creative has paid dearly in its unsuccessful bid to challenge Apple in the MP3 player market as the Singapore outfit slipped into the red for the year to June with a loss of 118.2 million US dollars.
The company gained global fame for its SoundBlaster card that allowed personal computers to be used as home entertainment units but its follow-up products have struggled to match the success of the sound cards. -
You are half right.Originally posted by ditzy:Oh, I'm pretty sure he has that much money, $3billion is only the dividend microsoft is giving him.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/corpgov/2004/07/22/cx_da_0722topnews.html
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_GatesForbes magazine's The World's Billionaires list has ranked him as the richest person in the world for the last twelve consecutive years. In 1999, Gates' wealth briefly surpassed $100 billion making him America's first centibillionaire.[3] According to the Forbes 2006 magazine, Bill Gates's net worth is approximately $50 billion. When family wealth is considered, his family ranks second behind the Walton family.
Anyway .. I'm not too sure how net worth is calculated. -
it is unimaginable why M$ is still making tons of money when there are pirated M$ products around.Originally posted by ditzy:Oh, I'm pretty sure he has that much money, $3billion is only the dividend microsoft is giving him.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/corpgov/2004/07/22/cx_da_0722topnews.html
Imagine if everyone using original. -
Creative may have won the lawsuit in legal aspect, but it still need to fight for survival.
Out of the USD $100M compensation, Apple is entitled to claim partial back if Creative starts suing other Companies. In a way or another, it's partial compensation to Creative.
Before the lawsuit ended, I've a feeling that Creative and Apple will join hands in a way or another to fight other companies, and I've got this partially right.
Did I mentioned that all my MP3 are Creative? -
That $100m is not enough for Creative to make a comeback. Quite some time ago Creative announced that they would be investing $100m to dethrone Apple in the MP3 market. Obviously they failed, so Creative is as good as getting a refund
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imagine u draw a cute dog in ur art class.Originally posted by ShutterBug:Hmmm...
Creative has taken to suing others for profits- how pathetic.
Reminds me of our gov.
then theres a dude who take ur drawing submit to teacher. -
yeah. good pt.Originally posted by moongster:$100M is spare change to Apple. Apple just pay to move on and concentrate on doing business rather than engage in battling out in the court room, which would cost more in the longer term - other players coming in and chip away their market share. Recall the story of the stork and clam, in the end the fisherman gain.
Better for us consumer also, both companies can spend more on creating good products rather than paying those insanely rich lawyers.
anyway apple won't be confident in winning the case so if they lose they
would have to pay more money.
so why not they just give some spare change and move on