CNET reports that Samsung filed paperwork on Friday asking a U.S. judge to force Apple (AAPL) to hand over a copy of its agreement with HTC.
As announced by Apple, the settlement with the Taiwanese-based company secures a licensing deal that covers all current and future patents for the next 10 years. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, although Apple is estimated to be making between $6 – $8 per phone licensing fee from HTC. The deal, announced on Saturday, also brings to an end all outstanding litigation related to patents, worldwide, between the two companies.
Apple’s position has always been against licensing its patents, claiming that doing so would not only prevent it from permanently banning devices that violate its technology, but also stop anyone from building a clone product. Experts note, however, that HTC would not have agreed to a settlement with Apple that did not include all of its patents. According to CNET, Samsung “wants to see what patents were covered as part of the agreement since there may be some overlap with the ones used in the case between [HTC] and Apple, including the ‘381 and ‘915 patents, which cover “bounce back” and scrolling and zooming, respectively.”
Robert Becher, an attorney representing Samsung, also noted that Samsung is interested to see whether “Apple included some of its “unique” user experience patents, which it doesn’t share with other companies.”
If Apple’s HTC deal did in fact include all current and future patents, that, according to Reuters, “would represent a very clear signal that Apple under CEO Tim Cook was taking a much different approach to patent issues than his predecessor, Steve Jobs.”
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