With Apple and HTC agreeing to a settlement in their patent dispute, some observers have wondered if this might signal the start of a period of cooperation throughout the land, with companies making a broader effort to resolve issues such as this without resorting to legal battles. “Don’t look at us,” says Samsung.
Samsung has rapidly risen to become the dominant Android device manufacturer and Apple’s most significant foe in both the courtroom and the marketplace, but AFP reports that Samsung has “no such intention” of settling with Apple.
“We have no such intention,” replied J.K. Shin, the head of Samsung Electronics’ mobile unit, when asked by reporters if Samsung would seek similar settlements. “It may be true that HTC may have agreed to pay 300 billion won (US$276 million) to Apple, but we don’t intend to (negotiate) at all.”
Terms of the Apple / HTC settlement weren’t disclosed, however market watchers speculate that HTC will pay between $6 to $8 per phone, with the Android handset maker paying $180 million to $280 million a year to Apple.
Earlier this year, Apple won a significant courtroom victory against Samsung when a jury awarded a $1 billion verdict in favor of the Cupertino firm. Samsung has also had its taste of victory, as happened recently in the United Kingdom, where Apple was ordered to post public acknowledgements that Samsung had not infringed on Apple’s designs for the iPad.
