Apple has had a handful of patent-violation lawsuits in recent months which made one thing pretty clear to us that Cupertino’s patent policy is very territorial. However, a recent article by The Verge points out a totally different scenario. It seems that Apple has in fact licensed its iOS scrolling patent to Nokia and IBM, especially the part where over-scrolling reveals a textured background. Even more surprising to know is that Apple offered a license to Samsung as well during failed settlement negotiations in November 2010.
The above document proves that this patent was licensed to IBM and Nokia. The source says:
“What we don’t know is how or why those November 2010 settlement negotiations fell apart: Apple could have been asking for exorbitant rates on a patent license, Samsung could have refused to pay because it thought the patents were invalid, or Jobs could have simply called the whole thing off…
Offering up a distinctive software feature covered by a strong patent indicates a level of willingness to negotiate that we simply haven’t heard from Apple in the past — it’s a far cry from Steve Jobs telling his biographer that he was willing to go “thermonuclear war” on Google and Android OEMs for infringing Apple’s patents.”
Recalling from Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, here’s what Jobs said to Schmidt:
“I don’t want your money. If you offer me $5 billion, I don’t want it. I’ve got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that’s all I want.”
