Obama Administration Vetoes ITC Ban on Apple Products

So how does one square this with the notion that Washington — including, if not especially the Obama administration — is putting the screws to Apple to punish them for their meager spending on lobbying and campaign contributions?

My cynical take: the e-books case pits two American companies against each other, Amazon and Apple. The DOJ has sided strongly with Amazon, a company decidedly in the Obama administration’s good graces. This ITC dispute, on the other hand, pits Apple against Samsung. A U.S. company that plays ball will be favored over another that doesn’t play ball, but even one that doesn’t play is preferable to a South Korean company, especially one like Samsung with a long history of cheating and playing dirty.

Washington doesn’t want to see Apple fail; they want Apple to continue making massive profits. They just want a bigger slice of those juicy profits kicked back.

★ Sunday, 4 August 2013