Brand Wars

Samsung lost with Apple and has to pay at least 1 bln $ penalties for violating Apple's Intellectual Property Rights. Apple says: justice, Samsung:one business has monopolized rectangular shape with rounded corners. Who's right? 

It was only a matter of time as the case was in the court for quite a while. Korean electronics giant is often accused of stealing ideas and patents for applications. But this time it was largely about trade dress: shape, color, design, material etc. Not about actual brainwork: efficiency, IT patent, application etc. 

It's good that Apple exists, it is still one business that gives jobs to American people and American people do need jobs. 

But it is also about customer choice: let me copy a guy who develops applications for iPhones and for Android:

"... iPhone 4 is available for circa około 400$ with 1Ghz prock, 512MB ram, of which 312 is available, and up to 16GB (speaking about such price devices).
What if I buy Android? For 200$ circa I can obtain Samsung Galaxy S with equal parameters and I can stick 64GB into a slot - do I need to say more?.
iPhone 4S - take 16GB - 800Ghz+800Ghz - 1,6Ghz prock, 512MB ram, available 300MB,new graphics processor, price- over 700$.
Android? : Samsung Galaxy S II - processor 1.5 Dual Core which is - 3Ghz, 1GB RAM, available 750,  MicroSD slot for up to 64GB, graphic processor BETTER than 4S'. Price? 350 $ circa. ..."


This whole situation reminds me of Microsoft attempts to shut down any open protocol globally, open code would be only Microsoft code in terms of norms available. They even tried to force our industrial and technical norms institute to make such regulations that never again a group of kids could start any garage business that could grow into a rival of any contemporary giant. 

 I don't write this because I like Korean stuff or have preference for Samsung. They did a lot of junk, including my dad's old work cellphone, which had a touchpad too active and it was not possible not to double or tripple press anything. They never made anything as simply and elegant like low price level "Stupid" Nokia's. 

But quarelling about the shape, the color, the simmilar look? Will we ban any not Dell laptop's just because they are rectangular and they open, or they have simmilar sizes?

  

Importance of Triple Helix

Bit more than a month ago I participated at the conference Finance and Public Private Partnership, Polish reality and international experience organized by University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszów and Polish Rectors Foundation, where I had presentation related to how Korean Higher Education Sector puts emphasis on Triple Helix.

Triple Helix is quite new concept developed by loet Leydesdorff and Han Woo Park. It explains how proper cooperation between governments both central and local, higher education and research sector and business sector are dependant on each other like triple helix DNA would be. Ths DNA is nowadays needed for any economy to grow and  be knowledge based economy.

During my presentation, but even more in aftermath paper I have written I put emphasis on how knowledge based businesses are important to country's growth and that global brand which operated in common electronics and home appliances sector does more to any country's diplomacy and international position than any Ministry of Foreign Affairs would do. Moreover it creates jobs and jobs means growth.

Basic example of such a business is Samsung. Even if it does not always make best phones or best appliances it has conquered the international market and even now i sit in front of Samsung LCD screen, not to mention my other two computers and my dad's cellphone ( I am fidel fan of Nokia though :P).

What lessons are there for Poland from it? Poland should focus on developing global brand based on graphene technology. Both european and Polish attitude to competition and business is focused on small competing with eachother technology companies. Some of modern crucial inventions have been done in Poland starting from Blue Ray ending on industrial processing of graphene. But if the money doesn't go to support one business with research center and create a huge conglomerate out of this, soon the technology will be there for sale from small businesses whoch owners are more interested in comfortable life than in far reaching visions of global electronics market. In worst case scenario Samsung just comes and buys the technology off.

Last remark I have after observing the reality and researching the topic is that stupid fashion focusing economy on trade and services should come to an end. To grow, any economy must have goods that are produced and sold, and trade and services are only surroundings. We see it very well in German economy which still has companies like BASF for example, and also others that develop. assemble, produce and sell real goods for real cash. Any economy which is based on virtual bank related non existing currency will eventually fail or suffer serious troubles like USA does. USA which starting from late 70's advertised trade and services, not industry based economic model. We all see where did it go.

Having said all this, I wish that Poland eventually unifies authorities, businesses and research cnters around creating Polish equivalent of Samsung. This merged with amazing brains and hardworking people should lead finally to success. Instead of supporting 10 smaller, create 1 big.