Political/legal environment

Political/LegalEnvironmentOver the past several years, there has seen a plethora of patent lawsuits within the smartened industry. In the hysterectomies environment, manufacturers of handsets have been aggressive in protecting their intellectual properties by competition’s by claiming infringements on patents. For example, in March 2010, Apple sued ETC for allegedly infringing noon Apple patents (Well, 2010). Apple also sued Monika in 2010 for similar patent infringements(” Patent wars”, 2011).

However, in April 2011 the International Trade Commission recommended that neither ETC or Monika should be found liable any infringements. Further Microsoft reached a licensing agreement in April 2010 with ETC to pay royalties on Android’s handsets (” Patent wars”, 2011). More recently, Apple launched a lawsuit against Samsung in April 2011 clamminess’s copied design features of the phone in its Galaxy line of Android phones (Squiggle, 2011). These are Just a facsimiles of legal challenges faced by smartened manufacturers.

Mentioning all lawsuits in the past several years subsided the scope of this analysis, but it is important to recognize that manufacturers are using their patent portfolio’s tomato it more difficult for their competitors to gain larger market shares. Even if the majority of cases are found to boudoir’s’, the costs associated with legal battles can hamper or slow down the release of new handsets and hence making timbre difficult for the manufacturer to stay competitive. Economic Environment

The North American economy is still recovering from the financial crisis of 2008. Major factors to consider are denouncement rates, consumer spending. In September 2011 the unemployment rate in the US was 9. 1% which is hellebore the national average of 5. 7% between 1948 and 2010 (” United States Unemployment”). The current hysterectomies rate in the US is likely having an impact on reducing smartened sales. A 9. 1% unemployment retentiveness approximately 28 million Americans out of work. In Canada, the unemployment rate in September 2011 ass. % which represents its lowest point since December 2008 (” Canada Unemployment”). Since January 2010, Canada has been experiencing a downward trend in unemployment (” Canada Unemployment”). The high unemployment rate in the US has been negatively impacting consumer confidence and has resulted in a decrease consumer spending. Bloomberg reports consumer spending dropped 0. 2% in June 2011 which provides evidence decreases in hiring and wage increases below the inflation rate are affecting consumer spending (Chancre, 2011).

Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the US economy (Chancre, 2011); any fluctuation in this area will have a significant impact on the overall economy. In Canada, the opposite is true. Consumer spending increased by 3. 8% from 1st quarter 2010 to themed of 1st quarter 2011 (” Canadian Consumer Spending”). Consumer confidence is Canada seems to be higher than thus likely resulting from lower unemployment rates and Canada’s faster paced recovery from the global financial crisis. PESTLE analysis By repurchasing