This isn't actually an uncommon practice for large corporations - the outside law firms charged with protecting IP and trademarks do so vigorously, and in many

This isn't actually an uncommon practice for large corporations - the outside law firms charged with protecting IP and trademarks do so vigorously, and in many cases, autonomously. I don't think 'surprised' is the word, but I'd be...startled if anyone at Apple (with possible exception of Counsel) actually saw this letter before it went out. As to SJ's reply, well, he's the CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation. He said what was on his mind and dealt with the issue quickly and decisively - who are we to fault that? (Tangential remark: as a bunch of startup founders/partners/employees, we've created a culture amongst ourselves of "corporate friendliness" - long, well-thought out letters from the execs about every little issue and ubertransparency through blog posts - and we build it into business practices, because that's what we think we need to compete. I'd like to see us all 20 years and a few billion dollars in revenue later - who really thinks they'll be acting much different than SJ at that point?)