12 November 2012, 11:50

Apple and HTC settle patent dispute over Android

Apple HTC logos

In a joint statement, Apple and HTC announced that they have settled all of their current patent disputes and have granted each other a mutual licence for current and future patents, extending for the next ten years. All ongoing lawsuits between the two companies will be dropped.

Since the terms of the settlement are confidential, it is not known what patents are covered by the agreement or whether royalties were paid for the patents. Apple and HTC have been involved in a dispute over patents since 2010 when Apple sued the Taiwanese company over use of the Android operating system on its mobile phones. Last year, Apple succeeded in winning a preliminary ITC ruling that HTC had infringed on two of its patents, which prompted Google chairman Eric Schmidt to state that his company would back up HTC in the fight.

HTC recently announced diminishing earnings in its latest quarterly results. Meanwhile, Apple has posted record quarterly earnings, mostly propelled by its mobile division.

(fab)

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