Apple and Samsung agree to settle all foreign patent disputes

Apple vs Samsung (image 002)

The Financial Times reports this evening that Apple and Samsung have settled their patent disputes over smartphones and tablets in several countries around the world. In a joint statement, the two firms say that they have dropped litigation in all countries and regions outside of the US.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. But it doesn’t sound like there is any kind of cross-licensing deal in place, and no money changing hands, so there will be little to prevent new lawsuits between the two companies from sprouting in the future, should circumstances change…

Here’s the joint statement (via the Financial Times):

Apple and Samsung have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States.

This agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements, and the companies are continuing to pursue the existing cases in US courts.

The truce follows years of legal battles, which has cost both firms many millions of dollars, without a clear winner. The two sides have battled it out across multiple continents, in many countries and in several key markets such as Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Australia, and more.

Apple vs Samsung (Apple before and after iPhone)A slide Apple used as evidence in its 2012 US lawsuit against Samsung

Again, the agreement does not apply to litigation here in the United States, where Apple and Samsung are still entrenched in multiple lawsuits. In 2012, Apple was awarded over $1 billion in a patent infringement trial against Samsung, and it won another $119 million in a second trial this year.

Despite the bad blood, though, Apple and Samsung have been reportedly trying to squash their patent disputes for some time now. Apple has managed to do so with some of its other tech rivals, including HTC and Google, who had both been involved in lengthy battles with the Cupertino firm.