HTC willing to talk deal with Apple in patent fight
updated 08:20 am EDT, Tue July 26, 2011
HTC says talks on and off with Apple
HTC CFO Winston Yung mentioned on Tuesday that his company would be willing to talk a deal with Apple following a stalemate between the two. Following Apple's win at the ITC negating HTC's buyout of S3, Yung claimed HTC was willing to look at "all sorts of solutions" with Apple if they were "fair and reasonable." No formal talks had been held since the ITC ruling, but he told Bloomberg that negotiations had been frequent if irregular before.
"On and off we’ve had discussions with Apple, even before the initial determination came out," Yung said.
The Taiwanese phone maker had bought S3 just after its patent win to use as a bargaining chip against Apple. While the ITC has yet to issue a final, binding ruling, its decision in favor of Apple negated much of HTC's advantage. Both sides have ongoing legal actions but may be hesitant to go further knowing that either or both faces the now real risk of product bans in the US.
Apple began the legal actions in what's widely known to be a way of slowing down Android and is focusing mostly on software patents.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2008
Slowing down Android???
Isn't it possible that Apple is just as $$$ unhappy over HTC ripping off their good work?