Apple has announced that it has settled its long-running patent dispute with HTC, bringing an end to a legal battle between the two companies dating back to March 2010.
The dispute began with Apple filing a patent infringement suit against HTC alleging infringement of 20 Apple patents related to the iPhone. HTC subsequently filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) outlining five of its own patents that it believed Apple was infringing upon and Apple countered by filing two similar complaints with the ITC. Following a ruling in Apple’s favour in July 2011, HTC indicated that it was open to negotiations with Apple, but later filed a patent infringement suit against Apple in August 2011. This was followed by another ruling in Apple’s favour by ITC resulting in an import ban on some HTC products and the more recent possibility that HTC could be seeking similar bans on the iPhone and iPad.
While the specific terms are confidential, the global settlement includes the dismissal of all current lawsuits between the two companies and a ten-year license agreement that extends to all current and future patents held by both parties.
