Apple and Samsung CEOs to Hold Patent Settlement Talks, Again

Before meeting in court, chief executives of Apple and Samsung have a (force-)scheduled appointment to try to reach a settlement in their patent litigation.

For those who have been following the patent battle of the two tech giants, this will sound like deja-vú: the two have been ordered to hold settlement talks before, but for “some reason,” these talks have failed.

Fast forward to today, and we see the exact same scenario: the U.S. court has ordered them to submit a proposal for mediation, before they face off again in court in March.

As it turns out, legal execs of the two parties already have met in January to discuss mediation and agreed to on a mediator with experience in such high-profile disputes. As a result, settlement talks will kick off on February 19.

Since Apple sued Samsung back in 2011, saying the South Korean manufacturer’s products infringe its patents, the legal battle has spread over four continents. According to data obtained by Reuters, Apple has spent roughly $60 million in fees to its leading law firm, but more recently, the U.S. court has awarded the company damages that total about $930 million.