Mediation Talks Between Samsung And Apple Fail
May 23, 2012
After two days of talks between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung, the two sides have been unable to resolve any of the numerous lawsuits between the two companies over intellectual property rights. As such, they will now head to court in July, according to The Korean Times.
In talks that were scheduled to possibly end what many are calling the “100 Years War” of intellectual property battles, the meeting was used as “a candid evaluation of the parties’ likelihood of prevailing on the claims and defenses.” In what was described as “the corporate equivalent of therapy,” Cook and Gee-sung met Monday and Tuesday with a federal judge in San Francisco, California in the court-supervised mediation.
Because those talks failed, a trial will begin in two months.
As you may recall, Apple claims Samsung copied their iPhone and iPad designs. In an initial filing made in the U.S. in April 2011, the Cupertino, California-based company specifically targets Samsung’s “Galaxy S 4G,” “Epic 4G,” and “Nexus S” smartphones, and their “Galaxy Tab” tablet.
Since then, the battle has been extended and now includes 50 lawsuits in 10 countries.
For his part, Cook recently said he hates litigation and just wishes people would invent their own stuff. As stated at Apple’s last earning call, Cook commented:
“If we could get to some kind of arrangement where we could be assured that’s the case and a fair settlement on the stuff that’s occurred, I would highly prefer to settle versus battle. But the key thing is that it’s very important that Apple not become the developer for the world. We need people to invent their own stuff.”The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, 11-1846. Source: The Korean Times Photo: What’s Huge
