Apple, HTC Settle All Their Patent Lawsuits

Apple and HTC announced this weekend that they have reached a global settlement that dismisses all current patent lawsuits between the companies. In addition, the companies have signed a ten-year lice...
Apple, HTC Settle All Their Patent Lawsuits
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  • Apple and HTC announced this weekend that they have reached a global settlement that dismisses all current patent lawsuits between the companies. In addition, the companies have signed a ten-year license agreement that extends to current and future patents held by both Apple and HTC. The “terms” of the settlement are confidential, so it is unknown how much money has changed hands.

    “HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC.

    “We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC,” said Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. “We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation.”

    Though the terms of the settlement haven’t been released, I think it’s safe to say that HTC will be paying plenty of money to Apple. Apple is the company who began these lawsuits, and the company does not have a history of backing down from patent trials.

    Back in August, the judge in the U.S. trial between Apple and Samsung urged the companies to resolve their dispute before the verdict could bring possible disaster to both parties. No settlement was reached, and the move paid off for Apple, which was rewarded just over $1billion.

    Unfortunately for Apple, it has not been as successful with patent litigation outside the U.S. In the U.K., Apple was ordered to publish an embarrassing apology to Samsung. Samsung and Motorola won a lawsuit against Apple in Germany back in September, and last month a court in the Netherlands ruled that Samsung did not infringe Apple’s multi-touch patents. Last week, a patent troll was able to win a verdict against Apple, nabbing $396 million.

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