Last week, Tim Cook met with top executives from Samsung Electronics to discuss the ongoing patent dispute between the two companies. The meeting was court-ordered, in a last-ditch effort to get the smartphone-makers to settle their differences ahead of next week’s trial.
Unsurprisingly, the talks didn’t go very well. A new report is out this afternoon claiming that the companies disagreed on “the value of each other’s patents,” and a settlement between the two sides is extremely unlikely to happen before the end of the month…
Reuters reports:
“Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook and top Samsung Electronic Co Ltd executives disagreed last week on the value of each other’s patents at a settlement conference ahead of a high profile U.S. trial, according to a source familiar with the matter…
…The executives from Apple and Samsung participated as part of the court directed mediation process, these sources said. While a settlement is always possible , it is unlikely to come ahead of the California trial, they said.”
The trial kicks off on July 30th, and its outcome could have major ramifications for both companies. Currently, Samsung is banned from selling its Galaxy Tab tablet and Nexus handset, and a loss could make those sales bans permanent.
Apple also has something to lose in the trial, as the patents it’s asserting against Samsung are being used in several lawsuits against other Android manufacturers. A loss here would decrease the weight of these patents and weaken Apple’s cases.