Monday Apple Rumors: Apple and Samsung in New Patent Settlement Talks

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Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:

daily apple rumors AAPLDétente?: Sources tell the Korea Times that Apple (AAPL) has re-started negotiations with Samsung to end the two companies’ on-going patent infringement lawsuits. Samsung and Apple have slugged it out in courts around the world over accusations of patent violations in mobile devices. Insiders says that Apple and Samsung have “recently resumed working-level discussions.” The point of the talks is “how to dismiss all lawsuits.” The new round of talks comes on the heels of a decision by a California jury awarding Apple just $119.6 million in damages for the violation of three of its patents by Samsung. Apple had asked for $2.2 billion in damages. The jury also awarded Samsung $158,400 for Apple’s infringement of one Samsung patent. A previous court case in California has produced a damage award of $930 million in Apple’s favor. It also follows Friday’s announcement that Apple and Google‘s (GOOG) Motorola unit have agreed to end all patent litigation against each other. The agreement with Google and talks with Samsung likely indicate that Apple foresees diminishing returns from the patent litigation strategy championed by late CEO Steve Jobs and its looking to wind down or settle the remaining court cases. One intellectual property expert said that “a one-time payment from Samsung to Apple for past infringement of U.S. design patents would be reasonable” to bring about a final settlement between the electronics giants.

Iconic: Collectors looking to pick up a piece of Apple history will have the chance to bid on the Apple corporate logos that were once mounted on the outside of its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, TIME notes. The two logos, which show an Apple silhouette bathed in rainbow stripes, greeted visitors to the company’s headquarters until they were replaced by its current monochromatic logo in 1997. One logo is about four feet tall, while the other is about 3 feet tall. They are composed of foam and reportedly show wear and tear from years of exposure. The logos will be auctioned off at Bonhams on June 4. The logos have a starting price of $10,000.

Missing: A former iPhone owner is suing Apple, alleging that iMessage texts sent from other Apple users aren’t being delivered to her new Samsung smartphone, which runs Google’s Android, Bloomberg notes. The lawsuit, which is seeking class action status, claims that iPhone owners who switch to mobile devices from other manufacturers are “penalized and unable to obtain the full benefits of their wireless-service contracts.” The lawsuit was filed by Adrienne Moore in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Moore alleges contractual interference and unfair competition on Apple’s part for interfering with texts sent to non-Apple devices and for failing to inform Apple device owners of such interference when they switch devices.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2014/05/monday-apple-rumors-apple-samsung-new-patent-settlement-talks/.

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