Imagination Technologies Remains For Sale as No Progress Made in Dispute With Apple

[vvswarup]

What exactly is this dispute with Apple? All Apple has done so far is say that it doesn't intend to renew its licensing deal once it expires. Clearly Apple believes it can innovate around ImTech's patents. ImTech says Apple failed to pro

Lesson learned is any vendor that does business with Apple's restrictive terms eventually goes bankrupt.

Tim Crook and his cronies should be sitting in Gitmo since they do much more harm to the West than all immates combined for colluding with foreign state to bankrupt Western companies and steal their IPs.

http://www.businessinsider.com/gt-advanced-apple-unsealed-court-document-2014-11

"Some of the terms outlined in the document that GT wasn't too excited about include a $50 million penalty per occurrence that any aspect of GT's agreement with Apple were disclosed, and a $1 billion penalty if GT doesn't honor Apple's 30 day exclusivity window should GT seek to sell its assets, or its sapphire business, or receives interest from a third party."

"This agreement also stated that GT could not do business with any of Apple's competitors"

Is this a troll post?

Were the promises GT had to keep hard, if not nearly impossible to keep? Yes. Did Apple force GT to make that deal? No.

Apple used aggressive salesperson/negotiator tactics but the bottom line is that GTAT's CEO chose to sign the deal. If the deal was too much in Apple's favor, it was on GTAT's CEO to negotiate a better deal.

 

[cmaier]

Why doesn't Apple just buy them? Wouldn't it save legal headaches that are most likely to come?

They tried. Price was too high.

 

[randian]

Why doesn't Apple just buy them?

They tried. Negotiations broke down for undisclosed reasons.

 

[Cesar Battistini]

Apple killed them on purpose, the EU need to fine them.

LOL They aren't even in the EU anymore uhahuahuahuhua

 

[CWallace]

Why doesn't Apple just buy them? Wouldn't it save legal headaches that are most likely to come?

They tried. Price was too high.

They tried. Negotiations broke down for undisclosed reasons.

Did Apple try to buy them? I don't see anything to that effect in the articles.

I believe a more likely reason why Apple has not bought them is that Imagination have licensing agreements with other customers for PowerVR as well as other technologies that Apple either doesn't need (MIPS) or want to support for competitors (PowerVR). If Apple bought them, they would be legally contracted to continue to support them and the cost of that is probably something Apple does not want to incur. There are also probably financial penalties for Apple to end support for those technologies with customers, which would be another cost Apple would not want to incur.

 

[cmaier]

Did Apple try to buy them? I don't see anything to that effect in the articles.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/16...-sells-3-stake-to-state-owned-chinese-company

http://appleinsider.com/articles/16...raphics-chip-partner-imagination-technologies

 

[MrX8503]

And thusly was the latest patent troll born.

Why would Apple allow their investment to be used for competitors? That makes no sense.

 

[cmaier]

Why would Apple allow their investment to be used for competitors? That makes no sense.

I believe the suggestion is that Imagination will become the patent troll

 

[MrX8503]

Why would Apple allow their investment to be used for competitors? That makes no sense.

The poster was talking about GT.

 

[randian]

If Apple bought them, they would be legally contracted to continue to support them and the cost of that is probably something Apple does not want to incur. There are also probably financial penalties for Apple to end support for those technologies with customers, which would be another cost Apple would not want to incur.

Costs like that don't mean much. Mostly they just reduce the purchase price. If Apple had bought Imagination it's unclear whether the other PowerVR licensees would have left. In any case, at this point it's clear that if Apple pulls out PowerVR is dead, so the rest of Imagination's customers are likely considering their transition options.

 

[sbuntin]

Oh I don't doubt that...
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The pound dropped because of the vote so Aplle wacked its prices up, by 25%... of course the pound has recovered a fair bit but Apple hasn't dropped its prices..
And we are not xenophobic loonies, were Americans xenophobic loonies for wanting independence? Such an utterly ridiculous term used by left wing liberalist crazies or those that have no clue about it all.

Current price for an iPhone 7/128 in the US: USD 749 (not including tax)
At current exchange rate, USD 749 = GBP 577
Add UK VAT 20%: GBP 115
Total equivalent price without Apple shenanigans: 692 GBP

Price of iPhone 7/128 on Apple UK, including VAT: 699 GBP

So yes, Apple is screwing you out of 7 pounds in the name of marketing - *99 pricing.

 

[Kaibelf]

I think the fact that apple poached a shedload of Imagination Technologies employees is proof that apple have done wrong here.

They all relocated to Ca, not just for the sunny climate and more money.

How is that "proof?" Are they slaves who aren't able to leave Imagination if they choose? Perhaps people need to stop acting like somehow Imagination owns these people, or that they aren't free to change jobs instead of staying in a place that clearly they weren't happy to be.

 

[MindJuice]

i really don't think this is about Apple trying to save money or not pay Imagination.
they currently license the tech for about $100million per year... in devices that brought Apple over $150billion in revenue.. like, Apple is getting a serious bargain from Imagination.. for Apple to do what's being hinted at (in house GPU design), they're going to be spending much more than they spend on Imagination in R&D costs alone.

Apple's goal, it seems to me, is to put themselves in position to continue offering users a different experience than what everyone else is doing.. and the more everyone is using the same technology, the more difficult it becomes for Apple to differentiate themselves from the pack..

it appears (to me at least), Apple is positioning itself for the next 10years (and beyond).. the last 10 years has been iOS.. the next 10 will/could likely be viewed as iOS 2.0.. the AR years.

their own GPU along with their own software (Metal) gives them a pretty serious advantage, or at least a very strong standing amongst other players, moving into the future (imo).

Exactly. This is what's happening, not Apple being some sort of freeloader without Imagination. They need to move forward with chips that support AR/VR with performance beyond Imagination.

 

[cmaier]

Current price for an iPhone 7/128 in the US: USD 749 (not including tax)
At current exchange rate, USD 749 = GBP 577
Add UK VAT 20%: GBP 115
Total equivalent price without Apple shenanigans: 692 GBP

Price of iPhone 7/128 on Apple UK, including VAT: 699 GBP

So yes, Apple is screwing you out of 7 pounds in the name of marketing - *99 pricing.

Just goes to show how little you know about... um.... math?

 

[sbuntin]

Just goes to show how little you know about... um.... math?

Please enlighten me as to my mistake.

 

[cmaier]

Please enlighten me as to my mistake.

I was joking. Because when I pointed out something similar he just stated I don't know what I'm talking about but refuses to explain why I am wrong.

 

[CarlJ]

So yes, Apple is screwing you out of 7 pounds in the name of marketing - *99 pricing.

Yep, it's been terrible, world over, since Apple invented the marketing practice of ending every price in 95 or 99. I hear it's spread from Apple to other stores and even supermarkets and car dealers.

I'm actually kind of astonished by the math - I've always heard complaints that Apple gear is so much more expensive in the England and Europe. 7 pounds is down in the noise, not much more expensive. And that's for the price with VAT - in the US, in most places, there will be something on the order of $50 added on top of that $749 price, for sales tax.

 

[cmaier]

Yep, it's been terrible, world over, since Apple invented the marketing practice of ending every price in 95 or 99. I hear it's spread from Apple to other stores and even supermarkets and car dealers.

Explains why their first computer went for $666.

 

[MacFanBoi]

What if Apple started a rumour that they will stop using their gpu tech in a couple years time to devalue their stock prices so Apple could then buy the company for a bargain price?

 

[shplock]

I think so, and if it does happen, with any luck Imagination will have them in British courts and Apple will find it a lot tougher to win.
I can't see how they won't steal their designs, or just use them for free, not like it's the first time Allles done this...

I personally think that we need to first see how Apple will be able to use a design that does not encroach on Imagination' IP before we condemn Apple.
I also wish to say that Imagination Tech are basically saying because we have not ability or 'imagination' (pun intended) to see how another company (Apple) could find a way round our IP then they should be 'forced' to still use us and pay out royalties still.

 

[thekev]

Employees are not slaves. They are free to leave their jobs and absent a no-compete cause (for which, hopefully, they are compensated), are free to offer themselves for hire to competing companies. It doesn't mean they're free to give their former employer's secrets away - stealing secrets is stealing, regardless of how you came to know them. However, they are free to apply their expertise to technologies owned by/being developed by their new employer.

Those aren't enforceable in a lot of states anyway.

 

[MrX8503]

What if Apple started a rumour that they will stop using their gpu tech in a couple years time to devalue their stock prices so Apple could then buy the company for a bargain price?

I believe that's illegal.

 

[Keirasplace]

Current price for an iPhone 7/128 in the US: USD 749 (not including tax)
At current exchange rate, USD 749 = GBP 577
Add UK VAT 20%: GBP 115
Total equivalent price without Apple shenanigans: 692 GBP

Price of iPhone 7/128 on Apple UK, including VAT: 699 GBP

So yes, Apple is screwing you out of 7 pounds in the name of marketing - *99 pricing.

You do know they don't change their prices every week huh, that the exchange rate is not static uh.

They have to consider the pounds price for the whole year before setting a price, sometimes it even goes the other way. Like when the Canadian dollar went way down and you could buy Apple product much cheaper in Canada than in the states for 6 months.

 

[cmaier]

What if Apple started a rumour that they will stop using their gpu tech in a couple years time to devalue their stock prices so Apple could then buy the company for a bargain price?

They didn't start a rumor. They informed imagination (as apparently required under their contract).
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You do know they don't change their prices every week huh, that the exchange rate is not static uh.

They have to consider the pounds price for the whole year before setting a price, sometimes it even goes the other way. Like when the Canadian dollar went way down and you could buy Apple product much cheaper in Canada than in the states for 6 months.

He understands that. His point was that Apple is NOT ripping off the U.K.

 

[randian]

What if Apple started a rumour that they will stop using their gpu tech in a couple years time to devalue their stock prices so Apple could then buy the company for a bargain price?

I'm not sure who disclosed Apple's notice to quit, Apple or Imagination. In any case, since it's material information, as a publicly traded company Imagination would have had to disclose it at at the latest in their next quarterly report.