Business Disputes and Political Risks

Business Disputes and Political Risks

Author Note

Introduction

International disputes are disagreements between two or more nations or single statement by one nation that are not accepted by others. International disputes can including disputes over territory, maritime rights conflict, human rights conflicts, and long-held grudges for past actions that have never been fully resolved. International disputes may or have stretch for generations. A conflict that comes to mind is between Apple vs Samsung.

The Dispute; Apple vs. Samsung, 2011

In 2011, Apple took Samsung to court for infringement of several utility patents. There were a total of seven utility patents that Apple claimed Samsung had infringed. Besides, there were three design patents, some registered trade patents, and other trademark patents. The case was high octane as it involved billions of dollars (Wingfield, 2012). Consequently, it drew international with various players in the technological industry watching the directions that the dispute was taking. The case was filed in the United States. However, Samsung was not going to take the matter quickly. It also sued Apple in South Korea, Germany, and Japan. It claimed that Apple had infringed on a lot of its patents especially those that are related to high-speed packet access. Since these disputes, the two countries have continually pursued each other in various courts globally.

The Political Risks in the Dispute

Competition is good. It leads to the improvement in the quality of products and services to the benefit of the consumers. However, when competition is not controlled, it becomes toxic and fails to create a favorable environment for business activities. The case pitting Samsung against Apple may have taken a political angle. That may happen when political players take an interest in the cases. For example, the primary sources of revenue for most countries are taxation. Both the governments of the United States and South Korea want Apple and Samsung to perform well so that they may obtain their respective shares in tax. The political risk is that due to the heightened disputes between the companies, the respective governments are likely to adopt market restrictions against the products from other countries so that they may not sell locally. For example, in its desire to enable Apple to have the edge over the United States market; the government may decide to impose restrictions that will hinder the products from Samsung from accessing the United States market. On the other side, South Korean authorities may also do the same.

Situation Analysis

Protective practices have the capability of destroying the market structures and causing a lot of conflict among the various players. It must be noted that in cases where a country takes measures to hinder the entry of particular products from its market, the matter may turn political and countries may develop such practices. One of the effects of taking the option is that apart from harming business, the issue may take a political angle where countries antagonize each other (Park, 2014). In this case, there would be a lot of tension from the Asian continent against the United States and may affect the stability that is required for businesses to take place.

Additionally, politically, these disputes are not suitable for the maintenance of the good relations that exist among nations. The United States government will not take lightly any attempt by the South Korean counterparts to harm the commercial interests of Apple. The reverse is also true. That matter is made more relevant especially in the contemporary politics where there is a desire by many nations to show their economic, military and political might. That may lead to aggression that may ultimately disturb the peace that has existed over the years.

The Possible Solutions

Business and politics need to be kept separate. Any commercial disputes need to be treated as such. That should be the guiding principle. In the course of transactions, it is natural that entities will clash on some issues and that will need to be redressed in the relevant agencies or the courts of law. However, the various government institutions need to avoid being involved in the matter as that may compromise on economic principles. The relevant international trade bodies should also come up with rules and regulations to bar countries from taking sides in disputes that involve their companies.