Apple, Samsung CEOs ordered to discuss settling patent dispute
The patent battle between Apple and Samsung has been a long one; in fact, tomorrow will mark one year since Apple sued the South Korean company for copying the iPhone and the iPad.
One year anniversaries are generally happy events, and it looks like that fact is also true for Apple and Samsung’s convoluted relationship. It appears that the CEOs of each company – Apple’s Tim Cook and Samsung’s Gee-Sung Choi – have been ordered by Judge Lucy Koh (who has presided over the Apple v. Samsung lawsuits) to look into settling the patent dispute.
Both parties have agreed and, within 90 days, will have to discuss options for settling the dispute. Unfortunately, the court can only ask both parties to talk about settling, but when it comes to the actual settlement, the court has no power.
Given that Tim Cook has changed quite a few things about Apple since he took over as CEO in August, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that these talks actually do lead to a settlement. But I’ve got no idea as to what kind of settlement will be reached, and I doubt either Apple nor Samsung do, either.
[FOSS Patents]
