Apple and Samsung still talking settlement deal; Almost reached agreement this February
Though Apple and Samsung remain tied up in patent litigation in a number of jurisdictions across the globe, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the two companies have been engaged in settlement talks with the aim of putting all their legal squabbles behind them.
Apple and Samsung Electronics Co. have held a series of private negotiations about their numerous patent disputes since a court victory by Apple in one case last summer, according to legal documents and people familiar with the situation.
The negotiations included face-to-face meetings in Seoul, South Korea, in December, one document states. The two companies even appeared to come close to a settlement in February before talks cooled off.
The report adds that the two tech behemoths are still talking to each other, but there's no word as to how close they are to actually reaching a mutually acceptable settlement agreement.
While Apple certainly doesn't like Samsung "slavishly copying" its product line, Apple's legal strategy as it pertains to Samsung hasn't exactly stopped them from garnering significant marketshare in the smartphone market.
Apple, of course, was on the receiving end of a favorable judgement in California last summer, and indeed, another patent case in California is looming for 2014. But legal judgements aside, Samsung continues to churn out devices that look similar to Apple's own products seeing as how the legal process is always one step behind Samsung's product cycle.
