Innovation Asset Blog

Apple spends $200M annually on patent lawsuits against Android

According to Fred Vogelstein's new book "Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution," Apple is spending around $200 million each year fighting patent lawsuits against Android. The estimate comes from an attorney who has worked on such cases. According to Business Insider, Vogelstein's book reports Apple has 300 attorneys at four law firms who work on Android pursuits nearly full-time.

"Apple thought a nasty, protracted lawsuit might slow Samsung's and Android's progress," according to Vogelstein. However, as Business Insider reports, Android has 81 percent of the smartphone market, and Samsung is the world's leading phone manufacturer.

Apple's financial state is very healthy, making its investment in lawsuits negligible. Most of the cases are simply continuing without an impact on Android and Samsung. However, that Apple considers this an important strategy in maintaining its business reveals the vast importance intellectual property rights have in the modern marketplace. Using intellectual property suits as a competitive battleground is a practice even tech giants like Apple engage in, pointing to the necessity of proper intellectual property management for all businesses.

Peter Ackerman

Peter Ackerman

Founder & CEO, Innovation Asset Group, Inc.