Monday, November 12, 2012

Android Community

Android Community

HTC and Apple settle patent issues, agree to 10-year licensing deal

Posted: 10 Nov 2012 07:20 PM PST

HTC and Apple have just announced that they’re settling all of their patent disputes, and have agreed to a 10-year licensing deal with one another, as well as dismissing all of their current lawsuits against each other. The license extends to current and future patents held by both companies.

Unfortunately, we’re not told of all the details about the settlement between the two companies, since both parties want to mostly keep it under wraps, but both big wigs, Peter Chou of HTC and Tim Cook from Apple, have issued brief statements about the settlement:

"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."

The war between HTC and Apple began back in March of 2010 when Apple filed lawsuits with the International Trade Commission and the US District Court. The lawsuits covered 20 patents relating to iOS, which Apple accused HTC of infringing upon. Since then, it’s been a growing battle.

HTC eventually counter-sued in 2011 and claimed that the Cupertino company infringed on several of HTC’s own patents with the Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Both companies have been exchanging legal blows for over two years with potential product bans and legal fees that were said to be up to $100 million, but it seems that both companies have come to their senses and have settled their differences.
Posted by at 1:22 AM

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