mediation
Latest
Apple and Samsung CEOs to meet by February 19th, give peace another chance
Previous attempts by Apple and Samsung to negotiate a truce in the patent wars haven't exactly panned out, but they haven't given up hope yet. The companies' CEOs have just agreed to attend mediated settlement discussions no later than February 19th, potentially averting a trial in March (and likely future legal action). We'd like to believe that Apple and Samsung will finally reach an understanding, but we're not optimistic given how long the two have been at each other's throats.
Apple and Samsung sit down for mediation today
Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Gee-Sung Choi are meeting on Monday in a San Francisco Federal court, according to a Reuters report. The meeting is mandated by the court after earlier talks, noted in the court documents, failed to produce an agreement. By bringing in the CEOs, the court hopes to put an end to further litigation by either company. Despite the court's good intentions, these negotiations may be challenging. Apple doesn't want to back down and told Reuters that it must protect its intellectual property from blatant copying. Samsung says its wants to end the legal battle, but Samsung mobile chief JK Shin admitted the two companies have a long way to go. He told Reuters,"There is still a big gap in the patent war with Apple but we still have several negotiation options, including cross-licensing."
Samsung chief: we're open to a cross-licensing deal with Apple, but 4G chip shortage might last until the fall
The at times very heated legal battle between Apple and Samsung might be softening just a bit ahead of truce talks on May 21st. Samsung's mobile head JK Shin just left Seoul for the mediated discussions saying there were still "several negotiation options" on tap, including the possibility of cross-licensing patents. He warned that there was still a "big gap" between the two sides, and we'd tend to agree -- neither Apple nor Samsung is exactly backing off just yet. However, it's a definite shift in language from March, when Shin was vowing "no compromise," and it parallels Apple CEO Tim Cook's own disdain for lawsuits. We just wouldn't bet money on the two singing "Kumbaya" this week. In same breath, Shin added that an ongoing 4G chipset shortage wasn't letting up: he didn't see things getting better until the start of the fourth quarter, or October for us common folk. That's a problem for Samsung's phones and tablets most of all, of course, and in a dire case could see LTE-packing American Galaxy S III variants rely on other vendors' chips to stay on the 4G bandwagon. There's also a chance of a ripple effect on other companies that want Samsung's parts, but short of getting a peek at Samsung's inner workings, we won't know the full impact for awhile yet.
Apple, HTC ordered by judge to sit down, try and make nice on August 28th
There's a trend starting to emerge of judges wanting Apple to talk settlements with others rather than duke it out in the courtroom. Just two weeks after Apple and Samsung were steered towards talking about a potential deal, a Delaware court has ordered Apple and HTC to meet on August 28th in the hopes that they could shake hands and put an end to an increasingly hectic legal battle under the eyes of a mediating judge. Whether or not that happens is very much up in the air. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he's not a fan of lawsuits, but he hasn't showed indications that he would take legal action off the table just yet. Likewise, HTC is no doubt eager to eliminate phone shipping delays stemming from Apple's court wins, but the lack of immediate pressure and the hopes of winning countersuits might lead it to hold off. Still, if the court's ideal vision of the world comes to pass, you could see HTC's Cher Wang shopping in an Apple Store without staff giving her the evil eye. [Image credit: mobile01]
Apple/Samsung mediation set for May
Apple and Samsung are fighting a multi-year, multi-country patent battle which includes over 50 different lawsuits. To try to end this fracas, the two companies are meeting on May 21 and 22 in San Francisco to discuss a settlement, according to a report in AllThingsD. Besides a possible agreement, each side must provide the US judge, who ordered this mediation, with "a candid evaluation of the parties' likelihood of prevailing on the claims and defenses."
Apple and Samsung set to meet May 21st, hug it out over 48 hours
These two brawlers were given until July to come together and mediate over their numerous globe-spanning patent lawsuits, but it appears neither side needs to wait that long. According to Foss Patents, May 21st and 22nd have been circled on the calendar of a certain San Francisco courthouse, where Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero will attempt to arbitrate in a calm, soothing voice for two days straight. Presenting himself as a confidant who sits outside of the main litigation being conducted in San Jose, Spero has already asked both parties to open up and provide "candid" statements about the strengths and weaknesses of their own cases, as a first step towards identifying areas of compromise. Fortunately, he still has a few weeks in which to devise further cunning plans.
Deepak Chopra wants you to calm down and play his game
Inhale. Exhale. Raise your arms, inhale. Exhale, lift one leg above your head, dislocate your shoulder and sing "God Save the Queen." Or not. Deepak Chopra's Leela wants to calm your mind, body and soul in a trippy THQ video game, as explained by his guru-ness in this new video. [Thanks, Amit!]
Officers' Quarters: Courtesy counts
Every Monday Scott Andrews contributes Officers' Quarters, a column about the ins and outs of guild leadership. The community of WoW is not best known for its courtesy. The bar for what constitutes civil behavior has been set pretty low. We as officers don't expect much from random people, but we'd like to think our members and counterparts are better than the average player. That's why it's always so disappointing when we discover we are wrong. Dear Scott, I have been an officer in my guild for quite a while but one thing I am noticing more and more is the lack of courtesy between members. I along with several of the other officers and members think of our guild as a family and it kind of cuts us when we have members leave without any word, explanation, or a simple "goodbye". Just today we had a member (we will call him Bob for simplicity) just up and leave without any word and one of the officers made a hasty remark in the trade channel. Probably 4 hours later Bob gets on an alt still in the guild and starts smarting off which gets others responding likewise (including officers) so much so that I have to step in and stop it.
Apple, Psystar strike a deal
CNET and The Mac Observer noted a legal filing on Friday that suggested Apple and Psystar were looking to bypass the normal lawsuit process and enter a phase of private arbitration and mediation. The filing notes that Apple and Psystar will participate in the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process, a way to keep legal costs down -- and the outcome private. For famously secretive Apple, this agreement seems right up their alley. The agreement means the two companies will enter non-binding arbitration, present their case to a neutral party, and work out a deal through mediation. This all probably comes down to one thing: cash money. Psystar has nowhere near the cash reserves that Apple has, so this less-expensive option is attractive to them. It's attractive to Apple because if they lose, the decision is kept under wraps. As CNET's Tom Krazit notes, if Apple is guilty of Psystar's antitrust accusations, it could hurt their other cases where they're accused of the same thing. Of course, we'll know for certain the outcome simply by seeing if Psystar continues to sell their computers (or not) after January 31, when the ADR sessions wrap up. [Via AppleInsider.] Update: According to Psystar's attorneys, Apple and Psystar were ordered into the mediation by the court. According to several of our commenters, ADR is a common practice. Soulbarn says: "It is practically mandatory. It would be a surprise if it didn't happen, no matter who the case involved, big or small, famous or not famous, precedent-setting or non-precedent setting. It is part of the normal legal process." Thanks, everyone!
