Peace has broken out in one corner of the patent war between smartphone makers, with Apple and HTC signing a global settlement and licensing agreement.
The two technology giants have been involved in intellectual property litigation around the world for several years, although the cases had not been as high-profile as Apple’s battle with Samsung.
“HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation,” said Peter Chou, chief executive of HTC. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said: “We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC.”
While Apple has previously struck patent agreements with Nokia and Microsoft, the deal with HTC marks the first time that Apple has agreed a settlement with a smartphone maker that uses Google’s Android operating system, a platform which the late Steve Jobs said he was “prepared to go to thermonuclear war” to “destroy”.
Terms of the deal, which includes current and future patents held by both companies, were not disclosed, but it means both are spared from the threat of products being barred from sale as disputes work through the courts. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2012
