Little does EFF know, that will anger shareholders. They dont want to expend the costs to fight everyone's battle. Only those that bring shareholder value.
Your pretty broad assumption that being able to vote automatically makes you an opponent to fighting this battle seems flawed though. If the majority of the decision makers were against it, fighting it wouldn't be on the agenda in the first place, right?
Good point. Though from my limited understanding of how companies function, often the the CEO is chosen by the board and has the freedom to do most what (s)he wants but with knowledge that the board can step in at anytime if the CEO is offbase/course.
So it simply could be that Cook is standing up for something he believes and if it negatively affects the quarter/year then he's out.
If they lose on appeal and still refuse, we could see federal agents storm Apple's HQ to acquire the keys and anything else they deem necessary to construct what they need. Such a stunt could disrupt business. Similarly, the court could hold the board in contempt, even lock up directors or employees who disobey the court order. That would not aid the stock price.
I'm an Apple shareholder, and I'm the opposite of angry.