Is Apple Hurting Investors With Patent Wars?

Steve Jobs could never be called a pushover. The Apple (AAPL) co-founder was a strong defender of the company’s technologies and chaffed at striking marketing deals to share systems. In fact, in the 18-months prior to his death on Oct. 5, Apple sued HTC Corp., Samsung Electronics and Motorola Mobility — the three largest Android users.

But some observers are questioning whether Apple needs to cool its heels a bit on the litigation front.

Kevin Rivette, a managing partner at 3LP Advisors LLC, a firm that advises on intellectual property, tells Bloomberg that a rising wave of patent suits might not be the best business strategy for shareholders:

�A scorched-earth strategy is bad news because it doesn�t optimize the value of their patents — because people will get around them. It�s like a dam. Using their patents to keep rivals out of the market is like putting rocks in a stream. The stream is going to find a way around. Wouldn�t it be better to direct where the water goes?�

The piece notes that for a time Apple’s attack-mode was producing results. But the firm suffered a setback late last month when a higher Australian court overturned the ruling against Samsung. Last week, a German judge said he was unlikely to uphold an import ban on a version of Galaxy.

Still, others aren’t so sure that Apple’s tenacity in using the legal system to defend the look and feel of its products — let alone its basic intellectual property — should be any less rigorous. �Apple has the patents, the money and the expertise to go to war,� Christopher Marlett, an investment banker, said in the piece. �I just don�t see why Apple would seek d�tente, since they�re the clear leader. Until they�re hit with an injunction by Google (GOOG) or Samsung, they don�t need to get serious about licensing.�

Instead of wasting time and money on trying to try to prevent similar devices from coming to market, Apple should be concentrating on gaining additional revenue, argues Rivette. He figures it could earn as much as $10 in royalties for every device sold — even more than the amount analysts believe�Microsoft (MSFT) is getting from Samsung and HTC to use its mobile technologies.