Report: Apple, Samsung holding negotiations to settle patent disputes

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics have held talks in recent months to try to resolve their disputes over patent infringement claims, and although no settlement appears to be at hand, the two companies are still in negotiations over a potential deal, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The report, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter as well as information gleaned from a  June ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission, said representatives of the companies met in December and February to try to hash out an agreement. The talks appear to have broken down sometime in March, but are still ongoing to some extent.

Apple and Samsung representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to the report, in the negotiations Samsung is looking for a broad patent cross-licensing deal that could settle all outstanding litigation between it and Apple, but it is unclear whether Apple is interested in that kind of a settlement. Apple and smartphone vendor HTC agreed in November 2012 to settle all outstanding patent litigation between themselves around the world, and the two firms entered into a 10-year licensing agreement.

However, the stakes between Apple and Samsung are much higher. Not only is Samsung is the world's largest smartphone maker by volume, the company also supplies chipsets for Apple's iPhone and iPad products.

Patent-infringement claims between Apple and Samsung stretch across 10 countries. Apple won a $1.05 billion blockbuster patent infringement case against Samsung last summer in the United States, but the judge later slashed the damages in the case by $450.5 million and ordered a new trial. However, Apple could potentially wind up receiving more in damages in a new patent-infringement trial than the $1.05 billion it was originally awarded.

For more:
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)
- see this The Verge article

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