Apple has historically been quite aggressive with IP litigation, going back even to the 80s. This is nothing new. Nor is there anything wrong with it.
Some companies pursue their IP rights and their enforcement through the courts on a regular basis, some don't. Apple happens to take it very seriously, though, and they always have, especially when it comes to "look and feel" and trade dress suits.
Consider:
Apple v. eMachines
In 1999, Apple successfully sued eMachines, whose eOne too closely resembled the then-new iMac's trade dress. The eOne was taken off the market, resulting in eMachines' losing the ability to sell the eOne as intended. In eMachines' EDGAR statement for May 1, 2001, eMachines stated that its "net loss for the first quarter of 2001 was $31.1 million, or $0.21 per share, compared to a loss of $11.9 million, or $0.13 per share, in the first quarter of 2000", but that these results "reflect the substantial discounts and incentives that we gave to retailers to enable liquidation of product inventories."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._litigation
http://www.enotes.com/topic/Apple_Inc._litigation
Some companies pursue their IP rights and their enforcement through the courts on a regular basis, some don't. Apple happens to take it very seriously, though, and they always have, especially when it comes to "look and feel" and trade dress suits.
Consider:
Apple v. eMachines
In 1999, Apple successfully sued eMachines, whose eOne too closely resembled the then-new iMac's trade dress. The eOne was taken off the market, resulting in eMachines' losing the ability to sell the eOne as intended. In eMachines' EDGAR statement for May 1, 2001, eMachines stated that its "net loss for the first quarter of 2001 was $31.1 million, or $0.21 per share, compared to a loss of $11.9 million, or $0.13 per share, in the first quarter of 2000", but that these results "reflect the substantial discounts and incentives that we gave to retailers to enable liquidation of product inventories."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._litigation
http://www.enotes.com/topic/Apple_Inc._litigation