Apple, HTC Announce Worldwide Patent Settlement

Apple and HTC have announced a global patent licensing agreement between the two technology companies.

The two firms have been involved in a series of patent disputes over the last two years, but have agreed to a 10-year joint licensing agreement for all current and future patents belonging to both companies. Financial terms of the settlement were not divulged.

"We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.

"HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple," added HTC CEO Peter Chou.

The legal dispute between Apple and HTC began in March 2010, when the former filed a complaint against the latter with the U.S. International Trade Commission, accusing the Taiwan company of violating 10 of its patents. An ITC judge, however, found only two violations in June, 2011.

Two months after Apple's complaint, HTC accused the iPhone creator of infringing on five patents pertaining to its mobile technology. It asked the ITC to halt the import and sale of the iPad, iPod and iPhone. During the August of 2011, meanwhile, HTC filed a lawsuit accusing Apple of violating two Wi-Fi patents related to Mac systems, iPads, iPods and iPhones.

During the December of 2011, however, the ITC ruled that HTC infringed on Apple's patent for "data tapping", which is techniques automatically formatting documents to allow, for example, a dialer program to surface when a phone number appears. With the body ruling that it would apply an import ban on several HTC products if the feature wasn't removed by April 19 2012, HTC announced it would immediately remove the component from "all of our phones."

Finally, Apple won a ruling against HTC recently relating to a case where a judge dismissed five patents HTC received from Google last year.

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  • internetlad
    Luigi: Hey Mario! Look what I made!

    Mario: It's a stone, Luigi, You didn't patent that!
    Reply
  • _Cosmin_
    Apple assume they will survive 10 more years without Steve...
    Reply
  • samwelaye
    _Cosmin_Apple assume they will survive 10 more years without Steve...otacon72They are most valuable company on earth... I think they will be around in 10 years. Pretty ignorant statement.
    Cosmin... Apple has MORE than 100 billion sitting in solid cash (I think ~120 last they announced?). If you honestly think they are going to be gone in 10 years, you're wrong. They couldafford to post a 10 billion loss for 10 years straight, which obviously wont happen.
    Reply
  • ltdementhial
    otacon72They are most valuable company on earth... I think they will be around in 10 years. Pretty ignorant statement.
    They are yes, but value does'nt determinate how many they will survive.

    Look at zynga they made huge proffits and everything they become the most valuable "partner" of Facebook, now theyre sinking, they copy everyone games they even hardly make it to the top 10 now.

    Look at Nokia & BlackBerry, they were the most valuable cellphone companies out there a very few years ago i think no one saw they "sinking" in just 5 years and now they're trying everything to survive.

    Even Apple itself has been this trough...don't you remember the early 90's without jobs? the millions Microsoft injected to Apple? Cross-Patent agreements? Office on Mac's?

    It's the natural course of life.

    Don't get me wrong since i sincerely hate Apple, but im not either a Fandroid or a something like that its just the fact that Apple is running out of steam and since theyre realising only "updates" to their products theyre are doing it fast.

    Putting it in another way:

    It's like disney.

    They loose Walt Disney and carried on with mickey mouse they created new characters, bought franchises, characters films and everything...they expanded greatly, they innovated and made great cartoons and movies, both animated and live action.

    They helped other companies when struggle by purchasing them and then make them even bigger (Marvel anyone?) they made it intro other markets very far from the cartoon market and so on.
    If Disney where like apple...

    They losse Disney, and couldn't carry on so they relaunched the same 3-4 characters (mickey, mimmy, pluto, donald) during a few years, they they didn't innovated, instead they started suing hanna barbera, warner bros. and every other cartoon creator since every cartoon was a vulgar copy and Disney last wish was to go Nuclear on Hanna-barbera.

    They didn't made anything more great than relaunching the same 4 cartons again and again until people felt borried and stopped watching they cartoons and the company went down in just a few years.

    I know my english is not perfect and that disney is not the more accurate example to use...but hey i think im remotely right.
    Reply
  • Thomas Creel
    i bet apple is happier than htc about this
    Reply
  • darkavenger123
    HTC is small. Can't fight Apple. I hope the Google+Samsung+Motorola combo will dealt a severe blow to Apple soon. Sick of Apple shitty patent troll tactics....and i can't believe they get patent for freaky rounded square for icon buttons. Caveman has invented square since the day they draw shapes on the sand with a stick!!!
    Reply
  • wemakeourfuture
    darkavenger123HTC is small. Can't fight Apple. I hope the Google+Samsung+Motorola combo will dealt a severe blow to Apple soon. Sick of Apple shitty patent troll tactics....and i can't believe they get patent for freaky rounded square for icon buttons. Caveman has invented square since the day they draw shapes on the sand with a stick!!!
    You do realize that Microsoft does the exact same thing and HTC also made a license agree with them.

    http://blogs.technet.com/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/communityserver-components-imagefileviewer/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles-00-00-00-82-95/7624.androidpatent.jpg_2D00_550x0.jpg

    We can update the above and make the Apple -> HTC a green one now
    Reply
  • house70
    This is news indeed. From a few days ago...
    Every real tech site posted about this last week.

    In other news, today was the launch of Nexus 4, Nexus 10 and the 32GB Nexus 7 on Google Play store (already a lot of them sold out for now). Not a peep out of TH.
    Maybe they'll announce it next week, as well.
    Reply
  • robochump
    _Cosmin_Apple assume they will survive 10 more years without Steve...
    So how long has Apple been in existence? heh
    Reply
  • robochump
    robochumpSo how long has Apple been in existence? heh
    Bah, sent too soon. True that Steve Jobs greatly boosted Apple but Apple lived without Steve before. Sadly Steve left this Earth too soon but hopefully the consumer electronics market will continue to innovate by people that are inspired by Steve.
    Reply