Perhaps it’s a product of Schmidt's carefree attitude or maybe it’s a little tinge of fear after their latest lost, but HTC now appears to be ready to negotiate with Apple. With a win on each side, settlement talks may be the only detour before this patent battle turns into a full-fledged war.
In early July, the ITC found Apple in violation of two S3 Graphics patents, which were then taken over by HTC when it acquired the graphics company for $300 million. On July 15, Apple got an ITC win against HTC over two of its own patents.
“We have to sit down and figure it out,” said HTC CFO Winston Yung in an interview with Bloomberg. “We’re open to having discussions.” Yung clarified that no formal discussions have occurred since the ITC rulings this month, but merely that HTC was considering settlement negotiations. “We are open to all sorts of solutions, as long as the solution and the terms are fair and reasonable,” said Yung. “On and off we’ve had discussions with Apple, even before the initial determination came out.”
Both of the initial rulings (Apple in violation of S3 Graphics patents and HTC in violation of Apple patents) are subject to review by the full six-member commission.
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