In a jointly filed court document to the District Court for the Northern District of California late Friday, Apple and Samsung admitted their settlement talks had failed, but both expressed a willingness to continue discussions ahead of their late March patent trial date.
According to the filing, the parties sent high-level executives to a “full-day negotiation session” during the first week of February, but failed to reach an agreement over what will be the companies’ second high-profile patent trial in California.
The two companies had agreed to conduct settlement talks at the request of residing Judge Lucy Koh.
Both companies sent some big dogs to the talks, as Apple sent CEO Tim Cook, SVP and General Counsel Bruce Sewell, VP and Chief Litigation Counsel Noreen Krall and VP and Chief IP Counsel BJ Watrous. Samsung attendees included CEO of IT and Mobile Communications JK Shin, Head of IP Dr. Seung-Ho Ahn, VP and Head of U.S. IP Ken Korea, Executive VP and CFO of Mobile Communications HK Park, SVP and Head of Licensing Injung Lee and VP and Head of Licensing for Mobile Communications James Kwak.
While a settlement did not result from the talks, both parties remain willing to continue talks via a mediator as the second patent trial between the two nears its trial date. Proceedings are set to begin on March 31st.
