Court Orders Apple, HTC into Patent Settlement Discussion

Apple and HTC will be meeting in August to discuss a possible settlement in their ongoing patent infringement lawsuits. The companies were ordered by the Federal court overseeing the cases into the negotiations, although there isn’t any guarantee they will reach an agreement that keeps from going to trial.

Apple and HTC ordered into patent lawsuit settlement negotiationsApple and HTC ordered into patent lawsuit settlement negotiations

The order came from the U.S. District Court in Delaware, according to Foss Patents. Attorneys and executives from Apple and HTC will be meeting on August 28.

Apple and HTC have been fighting for months over allegations that HTC’s Android-based smartphones infringe on mobile device patents Apple owns.

As part of its legal maneuvering, Apple also filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission that ultimately led to an import ban on some HTC smartphones. HTC, however, quickly found a way to work around the ban before it went into effect.

Along with the settlement negotiations order, the Federal court also ordered Apple and HTC “to keep an open mind in order to reassess their previous positions and to find creative means for resolving the dispute.” Despite the court order, Florian Mueller from Foss Patentes doesn’t see that either side has much incentive to reach a settlement and avoid a trial.