U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh has ordered a settlement conference between Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (SSNGY). The settlement conference will be moderated by a magistrate judge.
Both Apple and Samsung have agreed that their chief executives and general counsels will participate.
Here is the order from Judge Koh:
“The parties have indicated that they are willing to participate in a Magistrate Judge Settlement Conference (‘MJSC’). ECF No. 873. Therefore, the parties are hereby referred to an MJSC with Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero with a 90-day deadline. As the parties have indicated in their joint statement, the chief executive officer and general counsel of Apple and the chief executive officer and general counsel of Samsung shall appear and participate at the MJSC.”
Of note is that a similar settlement conference between Oracle (ORCL) and Google (GOOG) failed. Now a trial is underway between these two companies.
It appears that Apple CEO Tim Cook is willing to make a decision on this matter based on business merits and not prolong the battle based on principle.
Steve Jobs was passionate about the principle. According to Walter Isaacson, the authorized biographer of Steve Jobs, Jobs was determined to destroy Android because Jobs believed it to be a stolen product. “I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” Jobs reportedly told Isaacson. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”….Read more at Forbes
