14 DAY TRIAL // One of the most infamous patent wars is coming to an end. Technology giants Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics have reportedly agreed to drop all patent suits in exchange for a license agreement outside court walls, according to Korean media.
Citing unnamed people directly involved with the matter, the Korea Times reveals that Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc. have finally agreed to talk settlements out of court. The sources specifically said, “Samsung has recently resumed working-level discussions with Apple and the key issue is how to dismiss all lawsuits.”
The news comes a week after Samsung was found guilty of willfully infringing Apple technologies by a US courthouse. Apple itself got a small slap on the wrist for infringing one of Samsung’s own patents, albeit a much less costly one. This marked Apple’s second win against the Korean copycat.
Just three days ago, Google also agreed to drop their respective patent suits involving Apple Inc. The search behemoth has been a supporter of Samsung’s defense against Apple, so undoubtedly the events are quite certainly correlated.
Germany-based intellectual property expert Florian Mueller tells the paper, “Things should come to an end during the summer. Apple doesn't have an endgame strategy. Its agreement with Google shows that its management is looking for a face-saving exit strategy from Steve Jobs' thermonuclear ambitions that were based on a totally unrealistic assessment of the strength of Apple's patent portfolio.”
If you ask other litigation experts, it’s Google and Samsung who are trying to save face as Apple continues to win ground in its patent fights amidst Steve Jobs’ thermonuclear promise, which Tim Cook himself took to heart to resolve.
However, as Mueller later points out in his statement offered to the Korean paper, it’s also in Apple’s best interest to just lay down their arms and, instead of paying lawyers to maybe win some points for them in god-knows how much time, focus on their business.
“Apple won't regain market share that way. It won't even have an impact on Samsung's reputation. This has become a waste of time and money. Apple and Google have agreed to withdraw their pending lawsuits but they've basically agreed to disagree on the underlying strategic questions. That's why it's only a ceasefire, not a cross-license agreement,” he said.
“Theoretically the agreement with Google would enable Apple to focus even more on the dispute with Samsung. But in practical terms, it doesn't help Apple to free up resources if its patents are just too weak to have strategic impact,” he concluded.