For nearly two years now we have seen both Apple and Samsung fight it out in court over patent disputes. Even though a verdict has been handed down that Samsung pay nearly $900 million to Apple for patent infringement, it appears that the case might not be resolved anytime soon, as Samsung still has the option to appeal and it is set to do so. Perhaps the best way to end up stacking millions in legal fees would be an amicable out of court settlement, which is apparently what both companies are considering if reports coming in from Korea are true.
Korea Times claims to have heard from an official at the Korea Fair Trade Commission that Apple and Samsung are talking about a royalties deal with regards to the patents they’re currently fighting on. Talks are said to be at a “working-level” right now and that they’re working to reduce “differences over royalty payments” at this stage. Apparently the KFTC is working with U.S. and European antitrust watchdogs to support a deal between the two behemoths. This is not the first time that they have tried to solve this matter on their own, last year Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics chief Choi Gee-sung tried a similar approach but it didn’t work out then. Sources cited in the report claim that Apple wants Samsung to pay over $30 for each device found to be infringing on its patents, it is believed that Samsung thinks this figure is too high. Even if talks are already underway this doesn’t mean that they’ll be able to reach an agreement in the end. Nothing more we can do except cross our fingers.