Slashdot Mirror
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.
HTC thought it would be a good idea to settle with a patent troll?
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.
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
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.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
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.
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.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.