Just like there’s a lot of suing going on lately, there’s also a lot of settling (mediation) as a result of court orders (which is probably the wisest choice in many cases). Apple and Samsung have been ordered to settle their differences (patents) over two days next week on May 21 and 22 and now Apple has been ordered to attend a settlement meeting with HTC.

The Delaware court ordered the two companies to meet up in Delaware on August 28, 2012 in order to discuss the possibility of a settlement. Just as in the Samsung case, there will be a third (non-involved) party mediating and overseeing the process and in the HTC case it will be Magistrate Judge Sherry R. Fallon. The recent ruling comes hot on the heels of two recent HTC devices being delayed due to Customs Review which have an ITC formal import ban for Taiwanese devices starting April 19, 2012 as basis for action. Depending on how the August 28 negotiations will end they will likely set a precedent in other lawsuits between the two companies.

Next week’s Samsung-Apple talks will be at CEO and their chief lawyers’ level; there’s no information regarding the persons who will conduct negotiations on behalf of Apple and HTC but it is safe to assume that it would be at high-ranking officials’ level (if not CEOs), because the court was asking for persons who “must have full authority to act on behalf of the parties, including the authority to negotiate a resolution of the matter and to respond to developments during the mediation process”.

Source: FOSS Patents
Via: iMore