Chapter 121: Subordination
Moving to the office and sitting down.
The person in charge connected the call.
After a moment, a quiet and calm voice came from the receiver.
“Hello, Mr. Kang. This is Steve Nobs.”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Nobs. Nice to finally speak with you.”
“Likewise. I’ve been looking forward to this conversation.”
Steve Nobs.
A living legend from Silicon Valley.
I didn’t expect to have a conversation like this.
After exchanging light greetings,
I paused for a moment before getting to the point.
“First of all, congratulations on the successful launch of Quantum. I think Quantum is currently the hottest product in the global smartphone market.”
I responded in the usual formal manner.
“There’s still a long way to go, but thank you for your kind words.”
Nobs continued softly.
“While success is something to celebrate, I’ve been informed that there are a few issues.”
“……What issues are you referring to?”
I wondered what he was getting at from the start.
“Patents, to be precise.”
Ah.
I wondered what he was going to say.
It seemed like he was contacting me about an issue that needed to be addressed eventually, now that we had started the smartphone business.
“……Could you be more specific?”
Steve Nobs launched the A-Phone about six months before I did,
but he had actually started preparations much earlier.
As a result, he had secured a considerable number of patents aggressively,
and I had inadvertently infringed on a few patents while creating Quantum.
As expected,
Nobs mentioned it.
“Dojin Tech is also using our ‘swipe unlock,’ ‘app transition animation method,’ and communication module internal data cache optimization protocol patent clusters without authorization.”
I was already aware of this.
The communication module patent cluster, in particular, was registered long before I started my business, so there was nothing I could do about it.
However, I wasn’t the only one infringing on patents,
sso I wasn’t too worried.
“I understand that A-ple is also using many of our patents, including the capacitive touch screen patent.”
There were so many patents that we were both infringing on
that I deliberately didn’t address them.
I thought A-ple would contact me first.
‘Usually, the more desperate party digs the well first.’
I thought to myself and waited for Nobs’ response.
The voice on the other end of the line became softer than before.
“Haha, Mr. Kang is right. That’s why I’m calling to discuss this as well.”
I didn’t feel good about him constantly testing the waters.
I thought that if he didn’t know about the patent infringement, he would have asked me for a lot.
“Are you suggesting we strengthen the cross-licensing?”
The patents we had both infringed on weren’t entirely sorted out,
but they weren’t completely untouched either.
We had already agreed on cross-licensing for the ‘multi-touch gesture interface’ patent, essential for smartphone manufacturing, and A-ple’s ‘mobile UI touch stack layering’ patent,
and now he was proposing to expand cross-licensing to other areas.
“As you said, we need to address the 28 patents that Dojin is using without authorization.”
Combining swipe unlock, app transition animations, and communication module patents, we were indeed infringing on 28 patents.
But…
“I understand that A-ple is using more than 31 of our patents. The top and bottom pressure-sensing interaction response processing method and the in-app integrated control interrupt algorithm have clear registration dates and, in terms of technical originality, I believe there’s no room for dispute.”
For a moment, Nobs’ breathing paused briefly before continuing.
“We acknowledge that Dojin has managed its patents very well.”
From what he said, it seemed like they had been paying attention to our patents for a long time.
“So, I propose that our two companies establish a mutually complementary cooperative relationship.”
“What specific cooperation are you referring to?”
“Our proposal is as follows.”
Nobs continued clearly.
- Permanent cross-licensing for all patents applied to A-Phone 1 and Quantum 1-S.
- Pre-install KTalk and Ani-pung as default apps on A-Phone.
- Include Dojin’s ‘low-power cache interrupt parallel processing system’ patent in the cross-licensing.
As soon as I heard Nobs’ words,
I clearly understood his intentions.
‘They’re trying to develop their own AP.’
A-ple started using their self-developed AP from A-Phone 2,
so they must be in the middle of AP development now.
Then they must have found out about my registered ‘low-power cache interrupt parallel processing system’ patent,
which is essential for high-spec APs to manage heat and maximize battery efficiency.
The higher the performance of the AP, the greater the power consumption and the more serious the heat issues.
I didn’t beat around the bush and answered directly.
“Do you need our patent for your own AP development?”
Nobs didn’t bother to hide his intentions.
“That’s right. We can’t rely on Ahsung for the core component, the AP, forever.”
He was right.
If I had the funds available right now, the first thing I would want to do is develop semiconductors.
But I didn’t have enough.
“But isn’t this condition too one-sided?”
Even if we agree to cross-license the patents that A-Phone 1 and Quantum are infringing on,
including the AP patent in exchange for just pre-installing KTalk and Ani-pung as default apps is a bit of a loss for me.
‘Actually, it’s not that much of a loss, but Nobs, who doesn’t know the importance of KTalk, is likely to think so.’
As I expected, there was silence on the other end of the line for a moment.
“……If there’s anything else you want, please let me know.”
There was no reason to hesitate when asked.
I happened to need something at the moment.
“We’re developing a mobile shopping app called ‘Pang Pang.’ Please include this as a default app on A-Phone as well.”
I told Nobs to include KTalk and Pang Pang as default apps for models using the ‘low-power cache interrupt parallel processing system’ patent,
and to add one more future app as a default app.
The currently included Ani-pung would lose popularity over time,
so I was laying the groundwork in advance.
“Alright. KTalk, Pang Pang, and one more future app. These apps will all be pre-installed on A-Phone models using the low-power cache interrupt patent.”
Nobs accepted my request more easily than I thought.
‘They must think they can replace the low-power cache interrupt patent.’
But replacing this patent wasn’t as easy as they thought.
This patent was essential and applied up to the AE-15 AP used in A-Phone 13.
“And one more thing, a minor request.”
‘As expected.’
I thought it was too easy for him to accept the proposal.
I held my tongue and waited for his next words.
“Regarding Lunar, which Dojin developed, we have a proposal concerning the OS.”
“……What proposal?”
I was very curious about what Nobs was going to say.
“For a global user experience, we propose incorporating the ‘A-ple UX Compatibility Framework’ into Lunar.”
“……Compatibility framework?”
“It’s a module that automatically makes our UI/UX components compatible with Lunar. To be more precise, you can think of it as a dedicated interface module designed to ensure Lunar doesn’t conflict with the A-ple ecosystem.”
It sounded plausible,
but I immediately grasped Nobs’ intentions.
‘He’s planning to create a backdoor in Lunar under the guise of compatibility, to control it.’
Nobs continued.
“Given its open-source nature, Lunar will struggle to grow on its own. So, we propose collaborating and sharing resources like technical documentation, SDKs, and libraries to more easily dominate the mobile market.”
Nobs tempted me with the idea of collaboration.
This was the same approach he had used to subordinate numerous partners while building the A-ple ecosystem.
“What will we gain from this?”
“In the short term, user trust, and in the long term, platform certification in the global device market. Once it’s known that Lunar has the same certification as us, entry barriers in North America and Europe will disappear.”
His intentions were obvious, but it was tempting.
Nobs intended to subordinate Lunar to his self-developed jOS in the future,
but accepting this condition would make it easier to enter Europe and North America.
‘What should I do?’
I silently tapped my fingers on the table for a moment.
I couldn’t see his expression, but Nobs was probably confident that I wouldn’t refuse his request.
He must have thought I wouldn’t see through his intentions.
So, I decided to test the waters.
“I’ll review the proposed ‘compatibility framework’ and get back to you.”
“That’s a wise decision. I’ll wait for your response.”
“……But there’s a condition.”
“Go ahead.”
“Our security team will separately verify the technical documentation and SDKs before deciding on implementation. Also, all binaries included internally should undergo pre-reverse engineering testing.”
For a moment, the other end of the line went silent.
Then, after a while, he responded awkwardly.
“……Of course, that’s only natural.”
Nobs’ voice remained calm, but he seemed somewhat flustered.
He must have planned to embed a control kit called the ‘UX Compatibility Framework’
to make Lunar subordinate to jOS.
‘It’s always been like this.’
Using design, ecosystem, and user experience as justifications,
they attempt to control under the guise of collaboration.
Countless companies have fallen for Nobs’ strategy and had their technology stolen.
But this time, I plan to turn the tables and use Nobs’ plan to my advantage.