HTC and Apple confirm global patent settlement

HTC and Apple have confirmed a global patent settlement this weekend and a 10 year licensing agreement.

Apple first sued HTC in 2010 saying that the company were infringing on the iPhone makers patented technology. This was the first time that Apple sued a major Google Android market player.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said he was glad that the companies reached a settlement however neither Apple or HTC have disclosed the details of the deal. Cook boldly added “We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation.”

Since 2010, the industry has been plagued with patent claims between many companies, including Samsung and the Google Motorola Mobility team. Apple won a $1.05 billion verdict against Samsung this August and they are currently locked in legal battle with Motorola.

The move will be seen as positive for HTC because Apple have caused problems for the company in the past, stopping some of their products from entering the U.S. market. This happened with the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that HTC had infringed upon one of four patents that Apple had disputed and they imposed a sales ban on some of HTC's smartphones.

HTC predicted a 14.5 percent fall in revenue in Q4 from the third, worse than analyst forecasts and the second straight quarterly decline this year.

Kitguru says: One settled, but many ahead for Apple.

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