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Apple and HTC Settle Patent Dispute
An anonymous reader writes "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. From the article: '"HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation," Peter Chou, HTC's chief executive, said in a statement.
Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, also expressed relief in a statement. "We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation," he said.'"
HTC uesd to be a legitimate contender, so Apple did all they could to block them from the market. With all the resources HTC has diverted to the patent wars, they can't really compete anymore and Apple probably doesn't see them as a legitimate contender. Apple probably just figures they might as well suck whatever money's left taking from them. Borrowing from the Ars article on the same topic, HTC (read: the little guys) is just the upfront victim of the patent wars.
I have left slashdot and am now on Soylent News. FUCK YOU DICE.
the SCO Linux licensing agreements by this?
HTC thought it would be a good idea to settle with a patent troll?
The link appears to bring up a paywall for me, either that or a bunch of ad-laden crap that privoxy flushes.
Here's a better link
Very curious about what happened here?
Maybe Apple gave them decent terms as long as HTC swallowed a bit of a poison pill: the patent license deal dies if HTC is purchased by, or merges with another company (Apple did something similar with RIM). The last thing Apple wants is consolidation that would make the Android ecosystem healthier.
Or maybe MS played a role? It was reported that HTC managed to get Microsoft on side, largely by agreeing to continue to make Windows Phones'. Maybe having Microsoft on their side helped in negotiations with Apple.
Maybe it's divide to conquer? If the weaker manufacturers in the Android ecosystem have a license to use all the basic touch screen methods, and the stronger ones don't then it could lead to greater inconsistency between Android phones and could weaken the strong players (i.e. Samsung).
Ultimately, Apple's biggest threats are Samsung and Google/Nexus. I mention Nexus in particular because there is nothing that Apple & MS could hate more then the low margins of the Nexus devices. Whether or not the Nexus 4 itself is a success, the nexus line has become a threat to the traditionally high margins on mobile devices and it must have re-inforced Apple's determination to kill Android.
HTC's One series phones are a lot better
Could it be that HTC have started performing badly as a company, so Apple don't consider them worth the lawyer fees any more?
That's certainly what tech crunch implies about HTC. Now that HTC has switched to Windows they can be considered as dead:
I think that, in the spring once Microsoft's marketing money has disappeared, HTC may start coming out with competitive Android models again and has a decent chance of a revival.
=~ s,(.*),<sarcasm>$1</sarcasm>,g if any_point_you_wish();
Could it be that HTC have started performing badly as a company, so Apple don't consider them worth the lawyer fees any more?
That and a few more. I imagine it to be a mixture of several factors:
1. HTC successfully managed to transfer cases to a venue away from Californian courts
2. ITC found only one of the four / five Apple's patents to be valid and infringed by HTC devices (one related to data-tapping, i.e., detecting links, phone number etc within emails and texts)
3. HTC won a case in Europe on similar patents, where most of Apple's patents were deemed invalid. Only one was deemed valid, and HTC was found not to infringe that.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57466424-94/u.k-judge-htc-phones-do-not-infringe-apple-patents/
4. Judges in Delaware found that few of HTC standard essential patents to be likely valid and possibly infringed by Apple and HTC exploring seeking an injunction against iPhone 5 and new iPads using these patents.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57509251-37/u.s-judge-htc-patents-likely-valid-in-apple-suit/
So, Apple saw a possibility of loosing the case.
It is still significant development coming from Apple. They have repeatedly held that they are not in the business of licensing "product differentiating features". Only known licensing deal is with Microsoft and Nokia. HTC is the first company which also manufactures Android phones to have reached a settlement with Apple.
I work for ATT and we only offer 1 sony phone at a time, especially in the last year. And they are pretty too look at, but just awful phones, that no one really buys, and when they do, they are returned rather quickly, and the ones that keep them are fraught with warranty replacements. Sony is not making any inroads in the US market.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Have I missed something here? The One X+ which is out in the coming days ships with Android, doesn't it?
LG have benefited from dropping Microsoft and focussing on Android. HTC claimed [and I would agree with them] that one of the reasons for its drop in the market was sending a confusing message to customers with too many models. That said, If HTC is large enough to support multiple platforms. I think it *could* be a great idea, unfortunately I think creating a new market with an exciting product could have been great. I suspect sharing the 2% *Microsoft* share of the market a bad idea; choosing a failed product and trying to make it work where other companies have failed, although in context of this Article, choosing Microsoft may well have been necessary for the negotiations.
I remain to be convined that the Windows phone OS is dead. MSFT still has massive market presence and has a good chance of bulldozing Win 8 and all its siblings through to some sort of success. The big differentiator over previous MSFT moblile OSs is that it isn't rubbish. I have an HTC 8X and despite the very valid concerns over the app availability, the device itself is slick and gorgeous.
I suspect that HTC's strong involvement with MSFT did have a bearing on Apple settling with them; not because they think they're going to die but because they are taking themselves out of the frontline of Jobs' jihad
"Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs," I said. "we have a protractor"
Sony is not making any inroads in the US market.
The US market is irrelevant. The world market is, and Sony are now the 4th largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world [up from 7th]. Sony phones are doing awfully well.
Uh... you're delusional. Apple is doing better than it has ever done... wait, scratch that... Apple is now more profitable than any company in history ever. kthxbai.
Its market share in mobile phones has dropped from 23.1% to 14.9% its tablet share has dropped to 50.4%. Its ipod shares have shrunk to nothing, Android outsell Apple 5:1.
"the days of any Apple dominance are over in pursuit of those profits" I pretty much stand by that quote. The reality is Apple is have been riding high on market dominance [real and perceived] cashing in on all the and adopter money with massive mark-ups...but these are now mature markets. Apple has nowhere to go and its massive share drop reflects that. Lets face it its an Android world now.
So, Apple saw a possibility of loosing the case.
Does nobody around here know how to spell LOSE? I hate being a spelling and grammar nazi, but seriously, what the fuck?!
loose
Adjective: Not firmly or tightly fixed in place; detached or able to be detached: "a loose tooth".
Synonyms: adjective. lax - slack - free
Verb: Set free; release: "the hounds have been loosed".
Synonyms: release - loosen - untie - unfasten - unbind - undo
lose
Verb: 1. Be deprived of or cease to have or retain (something): "I've lost my appetite". 2. Cause (someone) to fail to gain or retain (something): "you lost me my appointment at the university".
Synonyms: miss - waste
1. HTC is on its last legs, more or less.
Not sure where this nonsense really came from, HTC were *very* successful last year on the back of Android, now other companies are producing more compelling products, and it sells less [there are other reasons], but HTC is still profitable, its just it has the same cost of sales...with lower sales. They are very far from their last legs. They are not Nokia.
As for Microsoft HTC was originally the goto manufacturer for Microsoft phones,and I don't think they ever stopped [even samsung make micosoft phones]. If they are successful they have the opportunity to steal that 2% windows market share!? from Nokia.
I agree that patents and/or patent protection is what this deal...and the new Microsoft phones are about [and that they are happening as HTC is weakened], but information is sparse. HTC still sell a lot of smartphones, and most of those are Android. Its going to be an Android manufacturer for a long time to come.
Your figures need citations... looks like you're talking about the US only, where, indeed, Apple is in third place. Despite this, in 2012 alone, Apple has had more growth in mobile marketshare than any other single company, and their marketshare will continue to grow. But you go ahead and believe what you want in your twisted fantasy world, because outside of that, your worst nightmares are coming true.
I am using IDC's latest figures.
https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23771812 for mobile
https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23772412 for tablets
To put Apples market decile of 23.1% to 14.9% in some sort of perspective Android grew its market share from 52.8% to 75%.
Clearly I had no trouble backing up my figures. Perhaps you should have used an Android device to check your facts. Then you wouldn't look so foolish.
Apple didn't make a mistake.
They just got access to all the patents of some of the slickest phone designers with the best screens, more memory, and better performance, experienced in two different Operating Systems. You said so yourself, and then turned around an awarded the score to HTC. What kind of reasoning is that?
Apple is the clear winner here. HTC gains only legal relief. Nothing Apple has patented is of value, except as a club to beat others with.
The HTC ONE line of phones puts Apple to shame. Whether its the Windows Phone version or the Android version, HTC designs are top notch, even better than Samsung. HTCs problem is they have spent so much time and money fighting Apple they have nothing left to bribe the purchasing agents for the big carriers into accepting their phones (unlike Samsung).
Apple could use HTC's expertise. I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple purchase them outright or at least gain a majority stock position. If they did that, they would have a beachhead into both Windows Phone and Android, because its easy to see that IOS is beginning its death spiral, and Apple has to do something.
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My bet is that they came to an agreement because HTC hold some LTE patents that Apple need:
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
...because its easy to see that IOS is beginning its death spiral...
iOS is beginning its death spiral? Are you joking? It's market percentage might be decreasing (and it seems to actually be holding pretty steady right now, going up in one quarter, down in another, and back up again) but it's unit sales continue to rise - their declining percentage is simply an indication of how fast the entire market is growing. Other manufacturers/OSes are seeing their unit sales decline but Apple most certainly isn't one of them. Their sales figures have been on a constant upward trajectory (with the only slowdowns easily attributable to consumers waiting for the new iPhone and thus delaying purchase).
If that's a death spiral, I think a lot of companies want to be in a death spiral...
Apple is the clear winner here. HTC gains only legal relief. Nothing Apple has patented is of value, except as a club to beat others with.
If that legal relief includes exemption from being beating with that club, regardless of what they do, that might well be a great competitive advantage on its own.
But you are comparing 1 company (Apple) to the multiple companies who sell Android devices (Samsung, LG, Sony, Google themselves and now apparently HTC). Certainly, Apple's market share has shrunk as other companies enter the market wit competitive products. This does not however, spell the imminent demise of Apple.
I will ignore your out of date figures. we are now have quarter 3 figures published, and again you have failed to supply a breakdown of profits for smartphones, or even an explanation of how the current figure is worked out [seriously they do not exist]. Please do not twist my comments into what they are not. I have nowhere claimed there Apples "imminent demise", I personally believe they have failed to make the transition from new market to mature market, and its already started to hurt them.
I would love a breakdown of profit by company on a hardware and content combined basis, but you again fail to supply a list. A mythical figure combing Apple with Samsung is equally a nonsense especially when trying to prove Apples relevance.
The bottom line is Apple is losing Market share, and its desire to keep its massive profits is the problem.The very thing you are trying to defend.
I said BEGINNING its death spiral. That you can't see a trend right before your very eyes says more about you than Apple.
Top Execs fired at apple for major maps failures.
Deliberate production caps on new releases just so they can say they sold out.
Iphone 5 sales faltering.
3 out of 4 smartphones purchases are Android.
Apple needs a refresh. Their initial sale clime with every new release is merely eating their own young, reselling to the same customer base while quietly running buy-back programs to take their old units off the street.
You are confusing deployed numbers with new new purchases which blinds you to trends. With a 3 year head start, Apple has a lot of faithful, who re-buy Apple each time. But New (first time) smartphone phone buyers are going 54% to Android and a distant 36% to Apple. The irresistible lure of Apple has worn off.
The market is calling TOP for Apple right now.
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Deliberate production caps on new releases just so they can say they sold out.
Citation, please. Provide it or shut the fuck up.
http://news.techeye.net/mobile/apple-pulls-out-all-the-marketing-stops
There you go.
I here it helps if you put your hand over your ears and sing LA LALA LA real loud.
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That's not a citation. That's speculation. Just some asshat (much like yourself) who thinks they know what's involved in a global rollout of a mass-market product.
You don't. Neither does he. Try again.
People who say "sheeple" have about as much sophistication as an AOL user, and in fact are probably actually AOL users.
Somebody else's speculation instead of your own does not a citation make. Apple is being hurt by the production shortfall. They're losing some sales because of it and pissing off people who are waiting.