Apple and Samsung Said to Resume Settlement Talks Over Patent Dispute [iOS Blog]

Apple and Samsung have reportedly resumed settlement negotiations over their ongoing patent-infringement dispute, according to The Korea Times. A source from the Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC) told the newspaper that the two companies are in “working level discussion” about a potential deal, adding that Apple and Samsung are attempting to narrow differences over royalty payments.

Samsung still prefers to sign a comprehensive “cross-licensing” deal, allowing the world’s biggest smartphone manufacturer to access all Apple’s design-related, some standard-essential and commercial patents; while Apple is asking Samsung to pay over $30 per device for Samsung’s patent violations, which Samsung thinks is “too much,” said another Samsung official who is familiar with the issue.

The report also states that Samsung Mobile CEO Shin Jong-Kyun may fly to the United States to discuss patent issues with Apple CEO Tim Cook early next year. Last year, Cook met with Samsung CEO Choi Gee-Sung to discuss the subject, however, those talks reportedly failed because Samsung would not accept Apple’s demand for patent royalties. Both companies also met face-to-face in Seoul earlier this year, but there was said to be “no indication” of an imminent agreement as the discussions failed to progress.

Apple and Samsung have been in a long, ongoing legal battle that started in 2011, with the first U.S. trial awarding $1 billion to Apple in 2012. However, a judge voided nearly half of that amount in March, with a jury in the damages retrial last month ruling that Samsung is to pay Apple $290 million for willfully violating multiple patents. A second infringement lawsuit between the two companies will also be held on March 31, 2014, with a separate injunction trial centering around Apple’s call for a U.S. ban on Samsung products potentially preceding it.