The patent wars could be losing a major front in less than a month. According to the FOSS Patents blog, CEOs from Apple and Samsung are set to meet in a San Francisco court starting on May 21st, for federally mandated mediation and (hopefully) some settlement talks. If the two technology giants could hammer it out, it would be the end of a litigious dispute that’s been raging for the better part of a year.
While there’s no guarantee that this will happen, a licensing and/or settlement between Apple and Samsung could end various patent, trademark and other civil suits between the two companies around the world. So far the only sales injunction that’s “stuck” is the original sales ban against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany, which was evaded with the modified Galaxy Tab 10.1N. The design changes in the V model can be seen in the updated Galaxy Tab 10.1 2 and the Galaxy Note 10.1, which adopt the wider body and front-facing speakers.
What are the odds of Samsung and Apple finally burying the corporate hatchet? Who can say. The mediation is the only thing that’s mandated; they don’t necessarily have to reach an agreement. But Apple’s latest CEO Tim Cook seems more amenable to settlements and licensing than the late Steve Jobs, who famously declared “thermonuclear war” upon Android manufacturers. Here’s hoping they can come to terms, so you won’t have as many boring litigious stories on Android Community.
[via Droid Dog]
Screw meeting in the middle. If i was the CEO of Sammy I would be thinking that you got my product banned by lying to the judge with fake pics, fillings in counties without giving us notice first. This just so you can make another press statement. Nope if I was Sammy I would bitch slap the bully, and either raise the cost of doing business with us by 50% or flat out yank their contacts and then run anti corporate bully campaigns. These would talk about how Apple thinks they “invent” something when in fact its been out for years for all to use or is actually patented by another company. Apple’s fleeceing of the patent process how that effects the whole industry as a whole. I would hire the very best PR firms to push this anti bully agenda so that by then end of then month even car pooling mom won’t want her kids having anything to do with Apple. The hip collage kids won’t want to be seen with any Apple product in that it might show they embrace bullying. Because this is what Apple has become. As AT&T is the death star Apple has become the Evil Empowe. They have clearly shown that lying and decittto get your way is OK and if someone comes out with a product that is anything other than a stone its a copy. Meet in middle.. ya I do not think so.
If only you can stop visiting and quoting that FUD blog 🙁
”I would highly prefer to settle than to battle. But it’s important that Apple not become the developer for the world. We need people to invent their own stuff.” Cook said: http://bit.ly/JJ6QQq