Samsung And Apple CEOs Will Meet And Hash Out Their Patent Woes

Samsung And Apple CEOs Will Meet And Hash Out Their Patent Woes


Is there a light at the end of the clusterfrak of a tunnel that is the industry-wide patent wars? According to Foss Patents, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung’s chief Gee-sung Choi will supposedly meet in a San Francisco courtroom within the next 90 days to talk about a possible settlement.

The two companies have sued and countersued one another time and time over in nine countries. Most recently, Cupertino filed a complaint over its nemesis’s use of autocorrect. But Judge Lucy Koh, who represents California’s Northern District court and is presiding over two of these lawsuits being fought in the Golden State, requested for a pow-wow.

Willingness to talk is a good sign, though this is not entirely voluntary. Koh ordered Samsung and Apple to offer their availability, so if one company had declined, it would have reflected poorly, and probably had larger implications in the overall battle. The gathering will be overseen by US Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero, and both parties are bringing legal council, so it’s not exactly a casual lunch date. But it might not lead to a treaty. Google and Oracle met in a familiar fashion last fall, and their case actually went to trial, starting yesterday.

But hopefully, this will lead to some kind of movement into the giant fight. Because for now, legal gridlock is killing innovation and keeping products off of shelves. [FOSS Patents via TheNextWeb]


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