HTC open to negotiate with Apple, HTC EVO safe for now
It looks like HTC might be willing to negotiate with Apple over their patent dispute after the International Trade Commission (ITC) made a preliminary ruling in Apple's favor. This means that devices such as the HTC EVO 4G, EVO 3D, and EVO View 4G might continue to be sold in the United States, but at a higher price to HTC.
Speaking to Bloomberg yesterday, HTC chief financial officer Winston Yung said, "We have to sit down and figure it out. We're open to having discussions. … We are open to all sorts of solutions, as long as the solution and the terms are fair and reasonable. On and off we’ve had discussions with Apple, even before the initial determination came out.”
One possible solution could be in the form of a large settlement payment to Apple. In another scenario, HTC might agree to pay Apple some amount of money per handset that they sell, similar to HTC's current arrangement with Microsoft.
So far, the ITC has ruled that HTC has violated two Apple patents, and Apple has also violated two patents currently held by HTC. It is important to remember that these rulings are still preliminary and up for additional review, which should come by the end of this year.
In any case, it looks like the EVO line of handsets are safe for now. Let's just hope that the financial burden placed on HTC by these legal disputes will not be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for phones and tablets.
