Apple is reportedly considering softening its stance in its patent assault against the Android OS, seeking royalty payments from certain vendors instead of pursuing legal battles. But chief rival Samsung appears unwilling to play ball.
Dow Jonesasserts, citing anonymous sources, that Apple has approached Samsung and Motorola Mobility offering to settle some litigation in exchange for royalty payments to license its patents.
Apple is reportedly seeking a $5-$15 cut per handset for some of its patents.
This approach could pave the way for Apple to engage in cross-licensing deals with vendors, reducing the number of patent infringement claims Apple is itself faced with.
Apple has sued Samsung, Motorola and other Android handset makers in multiple jurisdictions claiming patent violation, and the vendors have responded with patent litigation of their own.
The late Steve Jobs famously declared in his autobiography that he was willing to spend “every penny” of Apple's money to sink the Android OS, which he felt copied liberally from iOS.
But Dow Jones' sources claimed that Apple is rethinking its position for a number of reasons. One of these is that winning an injunction on a particular product would do little to harm a competitor, as they often have multiple products on the market, and previous injunctions have been skirted with minor tweaking.