As the holiday season rapidly approaches, there is renewed hope for peace on earth; at least with regard to the ongoing Patent Wars. Apple and HTC have agreed to share nicely, putting away the lawyers and working out a deal to play, and pay, fairly. The settlement is hugely important, both to the companies involved and to the rest of us consumers anxiously and always awaiting the next big thing.
Is this cease-fire a big-enough deal to encourage some of the other players to seriously come to the bargaining table? Wouldn't that be something.
The so-called Patent Wars started when Apple decided to sue HTC in March of 2010; sure, companies have been suing over patents since forever, and HTC wasn't the first company Apple ever sued, but it was the first after Steve Jobs declared open war on Android. Now, dozens of legal cases span the globe, most involving Apple, and including companies like Google, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia, and Microsoft. So, it is sort of karmically fitting that the first major settlement breakthrough occurred this past weekend between the two who drew first blood: Apple and HTC.
Apple announced the agreement on its website, with chipper statements from the CEOs of both companies. Although the terms of the agreement are not public, yet, it is fair to assume, based on what we do know, that HTC decided it was best for business to just start writing checks, payable to Apple. Either way, the ramifications from this settlement are rippling through courtrooms around the globe.
As Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents reports, this is the 15th official Android patent license deal in the last couple of years, and the third since this summer. None, however, are bigger than this one. Although the word "all" is conspicuously left out, the 10-year agreement does state that royalties have been agreed to for "current and future patents held by both parties." Most importantly, the settlement puts an end to all current lawsuits between the two companies.
More innovation, less litigation.
The inevitable question arises (besides the one about exactly how much HTC has to pay Apple for the licenses) regarding the other companies currently sparring with Cupertino in courtrooms around the world: Does this settlement change things?
Well, things have to change, that much is clear. Apple and Google spent more last year on legal fees than on research and development, and that needs to never happen again. As consumers, even as humans who live in a technology-driven world, we all benefit when resources are spent on innovation, not on litigation. We will never know what impact all of the time and money spent on lawsuits has had on the development of new hardware and software, but clearly it has been significant. Based on nothing but the diverted dollars, it has been significant.
HTC and Apple have found enough common ground, have recognized enough mutual benefit, to forge a peace and go back to just making great product. It's time that Google realizes what its manufacturers are realizing: Android is not free, and the only way for everyone to advance is if everyone is treated fairly and fairly compensated.
As Florian Mueller put it, "If litigation is the question, licensing is, once again, the answer."
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