It has hardly been a secret that Apple Inc. have been fighting a patent war on multiple fronts against multiple companies, which most notably include the soon to be Google-owned Motorola Mobility Holdings, as well as the Korean based Samsung Electronics. Motorola and Samsung are arguably two of the largest producers of Android-powered handsets, and with Apple believing both companies are heavily infringing upon company owned patents, they have been relentless in their pursuit of justice through the European legal system.
The action that they seek has involved an attempt to have sales of certain devices blocked, as well as rumors that Apple could even demand that Motorola recall certain devices from networks and destroy them, which is unlikely to happen but goes some way to portray the seriousness of the situation. It seems that even though the litigation is ongoing, Apple have also expressed a desire and a willingness to enter into negotiations which would see the legal action come to an end.
If sources are to be believed, Apple have taken it upon themselves to put together business and financial proposals for the attention of Motorola and Samsung, which would more than likely bring to an end some of the ongoing legal wrangling. The proposals are said to involve the two companies making royalty payments to Apple in a deal which would see the company license its patent to those it has accused of infringing them. If Apple believe so strongly in their case, and that these companies have indeed infringed heavily upon owned patents, this may seem like the wrong move, but it would guarantee the company a fee per handset sold as well as bringing an end to the burdensome court cases.
Sources familiar with the issues are claiming that Apple have asked for between $5 and $15 per handset, which relates to those devices which use technologies covered by a specific patent, although at this time it isn’t clear which patent that is. This equates to between 1% and 2.5% of the net sale per device, which may be greeted with distain considering Motorola have previously been publicly slated for asking for the same higher end percentage for the wireless patents it licenses to Apple.
The fact that Apple have acquired such a vast cash amount in their recent run of profitability means that they won’t need to be in any hurry to settle for less than they believe they are owed, meaning we could see this continue for some time to come.
(via Newswires)
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