Apple and HTC Settle Patent Dispute, Agree to Ten Year License

[olowott]

I see a lot of changes, ideas exchanged btw the companies

Use of cool designs, iOS 7 gonna be a big change

True goal, bring down that copy sung.

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by siphyn87

Please...there are just as many hardcore Moto/HTC fans out there, as there are Samsung fans.

Samsung's massive sales/profits and Moto/HTC's lack of sales/profits beg to differ with your assessment.

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Originally Posted by dalbir4444

Samsung may be the most popular Android handset manufacturer, but they are not the only one.

Just the only one making any money.

[dalbir4444]

Originally Posted by LagunaSol

Samsung's massive sales/profits and Moto/HTC's lack of sales/profits beg to differ with your assessment.

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Just the only one making any money.

Not to be rude but what difference does that make to you? One of the reasons that Samsung's Android handsets are doing so well (asides from the fact that they are actually very good phones) is that Samsung spent a lot of money on marketing their Galaxy S phones. If you watched the Olympics, you almost definitely knew about the S3.

HTC phones are nowhere near as popular as Samsung's offerings but they still have a dedicated user base.

[TheMacBookPro]

Originally Posted by dethmaShine

I most certainly am frightened over Apple's dedication to pros.

I know you're probably using your Apple machines. I don't doubt that. Please. What I am trying to say that you've been constantly bashing Apple for things they don't deserve.

Not let me quote —
Need more?

Now lets not drag. I've given enough evidence. That's just from the last 15 posts of yours. I could write a book.

Wow. You have way too much time on your hands.

[sazivad]

Less lawsuits? Good, good.

[Eriden]

Originally Posted by nutjob

All that time and effort and lawyers fees was certainly worth it, huh?

It was damn well worth it for the lawyers on both sides. Those Ferraris don't buy themselves, after all.

[HiRez]

1. Lawsuits breed uncertainty.
2. Wall Street hates uncertainty.
3. More lawsuits = depressed stock prices.

Glad to see this, hopefully Apple can reach settlements with others as well.

[vsighi]

...good for APPLE all this $ billions coming in but not one factory of Apple crap is been made here in US...what is the point of having the Cupertino office in US.!? I think will be better if they move all the tent in Beijing China or Honduras.:

[sazivad]

Originally Posted by KnightWRX

Apple is realising they are losing more than they are winning in the lawsuit game…

By what metric?

Public viewpoint of Apple? Maybe, but I kinda think not.

Money? I haven't really been keeping track of all the wins and losses, but they did win that $1B from Samsung (appeal pending).

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Originally Posted by HiRez

More lawsuits = depressed stock prices.

Tell me about it.

[HiRez]

Originally Posted by vsighi

...good for APPLE all this $ billions coming in but not one factory of Apple crap is been made here in US...what is the point of having the Cupertino office in US.!? I think will be better if they move all the tent in Beijing China or Honduras.:

So, genius, tell us about all the other mobile phones, tablets, and computers not made in China? Which ones were those again?

[Bahroo]

So does this mean that HTC and Apple will share some patents with each other?

[fertilized-egg]

Originally Posted by sazivad

By what metric?

Public viewpoint of Apple? Maybe, but I kinda think not.

I always think it mainly matters to the people who hated Apple in the first place and use the lawsuits as a weapon in the arguments. I haven't seen the same type of complaints online after Microsoft went to squeeze a few dollars out of virtually all major Android makers as well as getting into legal fight with Motorola. Mainly because it's no longer fashionable for the majority of the online crowd to hate on Microsoft. We've seen the same thing happen when the Nintendo part of Foxconn used underage interns. Nobody cared and there was no Mike Daisy, nobody was arguing against Nintendo WiiU based on the Chinese labor, which certainly would've been very different if it was a Foxconn factory that makes Apple products.

Looking at the outcome it seems like HTC is paying a small amount of $ to Apple based on HTC's statement. I wonder what the structure of the deal is.

However at this point HTC looks really desperate. Their revenue fell really quickly and it'll be difficult for them to compete against Samsung's hardware, better brand awareness and the massive marketing budget. It looks like they are trying to run away to the Windows Phone world but not sure how that'll play out since Samsung could put an extra emphasis there anytime they'd like.

[HMI]

It always drives me crazy when lawyers throw around numbers like 100 million. I always end up thinking of how many starving children they could be helping.

It might not make sense in the business/legal world, but I wish all these law firms would just choose to commit >5% of their legal fees to aid starving children and other worthy needs. It's not like they will notice the difference anyway, and they could be saving thousands of lives. To them, it would just be another cost of doing business.

[Muscle Master]

I really wonder what patents were affected cause I have some experience with the sense UI and I detect no traces of iOS at all!!!

I'm starting to can't stand Apple at all, I don't even know why I bought a five thinking it was going to be better than the 4s I had.. I'm giving them till iOS 7 to wow me otherwise I might defect

[xofruitcake]

Some interesting insight from FossPatent site..

http://www.fosspatents.com/2012/11/a...eal-shows.html

Apple just published a joint statement with HTC announcing the settlement of their Android patent dispute more than 32 months after it started. This is the third significant smartphone patent settlement since June 2011. Previously, Apple settled with Nokia, and Microsoft settled with Barnes & Noble. Apple has yet to settle with wholly-owned Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility and its main rival among device makers, Samsung.

Google officials including former CEO and now-chairman Eric Schmidt have repeatedly denied that Android has a patent infringement problem that needs to be solved through royalty-bearing license deals. But Google's rhetoric is out of touch with reality and inconsistent with the path chosen by its device maker partners. Google's OEMs definitely realize that they must approach the problem constructively and take care of themselves rather than trust Google on this. A month ago I published an updated list of Android patent infringement findings, and since then, Apple also won a preliminary ITC ruling against Samsung over four more patents, meaning that 20 Apple and Microsoft patents have so far been found by courts in different jurisdictions to be infringed by Android-based devices. A preliminary ITC ruling on Apple's second complaint against HTC, over a set of patents that had significant overlap with the first Samsung case in California, was due later this month (November 27).

Here's the full text of today's Apple-HTC statement:

HTC and Apple Settle Patent Dispute

All Patent Litigation Between the Companies Dismissed

TAIPEI, Taiwan and CUPERTINO, California--November 10, 2012--HTC and Apple® have reached a global settlement that includes the dismissal of all current lawsuits and a ten-year license agreement. The license extends to current and future patents held by both parties. The terms of the settlement are confidential.

'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.'

If litigation is the question, licensing is, once again, the answer.

The settlement is surprising and unsurprising at the same time. The timing wasn't expected since neither party had massive leverage over the other, though the upcoming preliminary ITC ruling I mentioned could have significantly strengthened Apple's position. HTC (including its entire corporate group including S3 Graphics and Via Technologies) had not enforced even any patents against Apple, and Apple was only enforcing a single-patent U.S. import ban, not because its case was weak but because most of its claims had not even come to judgment after al of this time. But it makes a whole lot of sense that Apple would settle with HTC, and that HTC would accept the terms Apple has imposed (which were not disclosed but are likely somewhat onerous), prior to other Apple-Android settlements. Both companies simply have other priorities to focus on. For Apple, the competitive challenge it faces from Samsung and from Google's plan to use Motorola Mobility's patents to reach a point of mutually assured destruction are far bigger issues. If Apple wanted to be embroiled in litigation with a third Android device maker, HTC would no longer be the choice at this stage -- Amazon, for example, would be a higher priority. And while HTC didn't have to fear much from Apple's litigation in the nearest term, it probably knew that it couldn't win this fight in the long run, and it now needs to focus on its business. It recently lost market share and reported disappointing financial results.

[selva]

Originally Posted by econgeek

I don't believe you were ever "Wowed" and I think you've been an apple hater since you first bought some other product and regretted it when you realized Apple's product was better.

I think it's astounding that apple haters think we're so stupid as to fall for lies like the ones you're telling. It's really pretty obvious.

The funny thing is that the Apple haters seem to be glued to Apple discussion boards as they seem to be worried ... and rightfully so.

[vsighi]

Originally Posted by HiRez

So, genius, tell us about all the other mobile phones, tablets, and computers not made in China? Which ones were those again?

...so rude of me Please, let me enlighten you "Sponge Bob"

Nokia N9 phone actually made in Finland. Most of the N9s were made in Scandinavia, and the company also has manufacturing facilities in Hungary and Mexico
HTC -Is keeping much of its production on its home island of Taiwan, check the box on any HTC phone it will say made in Taiwan.

BlackBerry - they use factories around the world, including its native Canada, as well as in Hungary and China, to create the parts used in its smartphones and assemble the final product. Last year, RIM moved some of its production operations to a plant in Malaysia.

Samsung - Made in both China and Korea. Even if you happen to get a Galaxy phone from a shipment that originated in Korea...parts are from China and the phone was merely assembled in South Korea.

Apple iPhone That's right, not all iPhones are created equal, or at least not all of them are created in China. Foxconn also has factories in countries outside Asia, and there have been reports that some new iPhones are already being produced by Foxconn in Brazil.

I guess the only Made in USA we all going to finded soon will be on a toilet paper.

[Ryth]

Apple and HTC have been exchanging legal blows over the past two years with product bans and legal fees that were rumored to top $100 million

What's SAD is that the rumor said they spent up to 100 million defending this stuff....what a waste of money.

tens of millions...do you know how many mouths that could feed all over the world...including here.

Meanwhile a select few of blood sucking lawyers get all that $$$.

What a f---ing waste.

[Beaubarre]

Originally Posted by Ryth

Apple and HTC have been exchanging legal blows over the past two years with product bans and legal fees that were rumored to top $100 million

What's SAD is that the rumor said they spent up to 100 million defending this stuff....what a waste of money.

tens of millions...do you know how many mouths that could feed all over the world...including here.

Meanwhile a select few of blood sucking lawyers get all that $$$.

What a f---ing waste.

It's not a waste for Apple. 100 million was small change for them, but it was a large sum for HTC, moreover the uncertainty for HTC was enough to depress stock prices and increase suppliers costs, and flip it to the red ink.

For me it's an horrible cynical move from Apple, they killed HTC, now they settle because they have what they want so they want to decrease expenses.

Law is supposed to be about right and wrong, remember, not using it to kill your opponents, the marketplace, innovation and good products are the "fair" way to kill your opponents that benefit the consumer and progress.

[Ryth]

Originally Posted by Beaubarre

It's not a waste for Apple. 100 million was small change for them, but it was a large sum for HTC, moreover the uncertainty for HTC was enough to depress stock prices and increase suppliers costs, and flip it to the red ink.

For me it's an horrible cynical move from Apple, they killed HTC, now they settle because they have what they want so they want to decrease expenses.

Law is supposed to be about right and wrong, remember, not using it to kill your opponents, the marketplace, innovation and good products are the "fair" way to kill your opponents that benefit the consumer and progress.

Oh I understand why they did it...but do you really think it cost 100 million? Lets say 50 million of that was legal fees...I mean really...50 million? I don't care who you are, that is an absurd amount of money for litigation...

Things are so out of whack in our world...especially legal fees.

[Vitrum]

Finally something good.

[gorskiegangsta]

Originally Posted by justperry

So, they CAN settle.

Do that with samsung and focus on products please.

Agreed. They should settle so that Apple can focus on their products and Samsung can focus on Apple's products

[Beaubarre]

Originally Posted by Ryth

Oh I understand why they did it...but do you really think it cost 100 million? Lets say 50 million of that was legal fees...I mean really...50 million? I don't care who you are, that is an absurd amount of money for litigation...

Things are so out of whack in our world...especially legal fees.

The problem in our world is that experts have an interest of putting complicated rules so that they are the only ones understanding them and need more and more "expert" fees.

That is happening in law (American law), accounting, and financial markets, and the brightest just go in that sector to graduate, make millions, and more complex rules to ensure future profit. The best rules to put in place are contradictory rules so you can have fees for ever

That is a major error, if something is too complex to handle, the best answer is often to forbid it period. Like financial weapons of mass destruction, glass steagall act (19 pages versus 956 pages for dodd franck), or patent on trivial shapes. Of course the lawyers fees would be zero in that case.

[Oletros]

Originally Posted by xofruitcake

Some interesting insight from FossPatent site..

Florian Mueller is paid by Microsoft and Oracle, you can't take any of his FUD seriously.


And regarding the settlement, good news, going thermonuclear is not the best thing to do for any company

[MacDav]

Originally Posted by croooow

Well, I do not know if you two have any history (too lazy to really look into it) but I have to agree that I have not been "wowed" by Apple like I was when Steve Jobs showed us that first iPhone in 2007.

I have liked plenty of other products they make, I have purchased 3 of their phones plus a number of other items (like the computer I am using right now) but nothing they have done since the first iPhone has really "wowed" me.

Edit/Addition: I have been very impressed by their products, I feel they are made better than just about everything that competes with them. I am a big fan of Apple: I am just talking about that "wow" that I felt watching the iPhone introduction. What else have they done that really wowed anyone? Look at the audience reaction during the keynotes.

Agreed. Keep hoping for something insanely great, but haven't seen anything for years now. Maybe I expect too much. Am I jaded?