It is no secret Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:0059935) have been duking it out in the marketplace and in court for years. Both tech giants have spent a lot of time and money battling over patent rights. Apple claimed Samsung copied their designs and features; Samsung fought back with their own claims that Apple stole from it.
A possible truce
A new report on Wednesday indicates that the two companies may be near a truce. An unnamed industry insider recently told Korea Times said they trying to reduce the number of problems and no longer want to spend time discussing secondary points. It is reported both Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:0059935) are taking a pragmatic approach to solving their issues. Apple won many, but not all, of the courtroom battles throughout the world. The iPhone maker has won close to $1 billion in patent infringement payments.
According to analysts, it boils down to the fact that the Cupertino-based tech giant does not want to lose their partnership with Samsung. Apple needs to keep their partnership with the South Korean industrial titan who supplies a lot of their components. For example, Samsung is reportedly supplying the OLED displays for the purported iWatch. It can be argued that it’s crucial for Apple to maintain a working relationship with its major rival if it wants to keep producing its most successful gadgets such as the iPhone and iPad.
Reason for the purported truce
The same source reports both companies agreed it would be better to focus less on disputes and instead try to find common ground. The tech firms also reportedly dropped their cross-appeals filed last year. A year ago, the United States International Trade Commission concluded Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:0059935) infringed on two Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) patents. The infringed patents involved headset plug detector technology as well as touchscreen interface technology.
Unfortunately for Samsung, the import ban still is in effect. However, since the banned phones are no longer manufactured and the phones that are manufactured are modified, it has become a moot issue.
