Sunday, October 7, 2012

Apple offered to sign a cross-licensing deal over patents, Samsung said it is unacceptable.


WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jes�s.


Apple offered to sign a cross-licensing deal over patents, Samsung said it is unacceptable.


Apple has proposed a cross-licensing contract to Samsung Electronics, an official said Thursday.

``Apple offered to sign a cross-licensing deal over patents; but its requests were unacceptable,�� the senior Samsung official said.

Apple�s intellectual-property licensing director Boris Teskler, had outlined a deal to his counterpart at Samsung _ Kim Seong-woo _ in a three-page letter that was revealed this week after U.S. Judge Lucy H. Koh rejected the firms� request to keep the documents sealed.

``Apple is willing to license its declared-essential patents to Samsung on license terms that rely on the price of baseband chips on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) royalties basis. Apple estimates that this approach, which implements the true meaning of and requirements imposed by FRAND, will result in a $0.33 per unit in royalties for Apple patents,�� Apple said in a letter to Judge Koh. 

``I don�t doubt that Apple would have liked Samsung to accept its offer and Apple�s proposed per-unit amount may seem low,�� Florian Mueller, a German-based patent expert, wrote on his popular FossPatents blog.

``By submitting the classified letters to Judge Koh, Apple was intending to appeal to the presiding judge that its attempts to sign a peace treaty with Samsung vaporized due to Samsung�s unwillingness to accept the offer,�� said another Samsung official.

Amid the deepening legal feud, the Korean firm has been raising its brand awareness in the global market. According to a study by InterBrand, a major consultancy in branding, Samsung�s brand value was estimated at $32.9 billion, ranking it ninth in terms of corporate awareness worldwide.

``For Samsung has nothing to lose in its fight with Apple,�� a source said. Last year, Samsung�s brand awareness was 17th.

``Samsung�s anti-Apple campaign is so far paying off. It is now the world�s biggest smartphone manufacturer and is rolling out more software- and hardware-improved devices as the fight is a good excuse to further encourage designers and technicians,�� said the source.

Meanwhile, Samsung has officially asked that the ruling in August against it that awarded Apple $1.05 billion be thrown out as jury foreman Velvin Hogan failed to disclose his previous ``legal problems�� with a company that Samsung has a close partnership with.

According to Samsung, the controversial foreman didn�t tell Judge Koh that he had filed bankruptcy in 1993 and had been sued by his former employer, Seagate Technology. 

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