The Apple Wars

Apple's public spat with Google is not the first time that the company has sparred with competitors. Here's a look at the big, bruising battles that Apple has fought and how they turned out for the company. It has lessons for India Inc. It highlights how valuable intellectual property can be and how vigilant companies need to be in protecting themselves.

Apple vs HTC
In early March, Apple sued the Taiwanese phone maker alleging that HTC had infringed 20 different iPhone related patents. Apple is seeking a ban on sale of HTC phones using Google's Android operating system, as it allegedly copies iPhone functions.

Apple vs Palm
In 1993, Apple decided to home in on the fast growing personal digital assistant (PDA) market and launched Newton. The product was marketed poorly and the Palm Pilot wiped out Newton. Today, Palm is in dire straits and is up for sale.

Apple vs Sony
To crack the video game market, Apple launched Pippin in Japan in 1995. In a market dominated by Sony and Sega, the Pippin was exorbitantly priced. Half a decade later, Apple got its revenge: the iPod made Sony's Walkman history.

Apple vs IBM
This is the original war of the PCs with Apple's Mac launch. It came, conquered and waned after the exit of Steve Jobs. With the return of Jobs and the iMac, Apple was back in the PC business in 1997, though not on the same scale.