Apple And Google Discuss Potential Arbitration Over Some Patents
5:18p ET November 16, 2012 (Dow Jones)
Apple And Google Discuss Potential Arbitration Over Some Patents
By Ian Sherr
SAN FRANCISCO--Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. (GOOG) swapped a series of letters earlier this month discussing potential arbitration for some patents, according to a recent court filing.
The letter exchange between the two tech titans followed a discussion in court, during which lawyers for Google offered to arbitrate some patents. Apple responded with a letter dated Nov. 8, in which Bruce Sewell, the company's general counsel, said the offer was welcomed and suggested that guidelines for any agreement include a stand down in litigation and world-wide coverage.
The patents up for potential arbitration, according to the letters, would be those that describe technologies used as part of accepted standards, such as ones for wireless technology. In order to be included in a technology standard, companies agree to license their patents in a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory way.
In a response letter dated Nov. 13, Google said it would prefer to seek a framework to settle all patent litigation, not just suits based upon specific technology patents.
"We have long sought a path to resolving patent issues," Kent Walker, Google's general counsel, wrote in the letter. Google also recommended that any settlement not include Germany, which has been a flashpoint in the global smartphone patent battles.
Both the European Union and the U.S. have investigated Google over concerns it violated antitrust laws in its litigation efforts and in private negotiations. Apple, for its part, also has complained that both Google and its partner, Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE, SSNHY), have overreached in their efforts to extract royalties for standards-essential patents.
Representatives from Apple and Google declined to comment. The letters were disclosed in a filing Thursday in a Wisconsin court.
The filing comes a week after the iPhone maker publicly disclosed an agreement with HTC Corp. (HTCXF, 2498.TW), which included a 10-year pact that settled all lawsuits between the companies. Though the companies didn't disclose the terms of their agreement, a person familiar with the matter later said HTC would pay licensing fees to Apple.
The settlement efforts come after Apple attempted similar talks with Samsung ahead of and during a high-profile patent trial in a San Jose court. A jury eventually awarded Apple $1 billion in damages, a decision Samsung said it would appeal.
Apple has attempted settlement talks with Google's Motorola unit in the past as well, at one point offering between $5 and $15 per handset license for some of its patents in one negotiation with Motorola, or roughly 1% to 2.5% of net sales per device, a person familiar with the matter said earlier this year. Motorola has been criticized for asking a maximum of 2.25% of net sales per device for its patents, a practice Google said in a letter to standards groups earlier this year it would uphold.
Motorola, for its part, recently dropped its latest complaint against Apple at the U.S. International Trade Commission.
