It will take weeks and months before the whole Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit in the USA gets resolved, and until then we’ll continue to receive juicy bits of insider information on both company’s design processes, prototypes for current products and plans for upcoming ones. Today, we’ve received news related to Apple’s previous intentions and efforts on striking a hefty per smartphone / tablet licensing deal with Samsung. Check out the details after the jump.
The news comes in the form of report over on TheVerge in which they discuss the state of the Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit and the latest news of Apple’s attempts to settle on a licensing deal. According to the report, in October 2010, Apple proposed Samsung to pay a hefty $30 per touchscreen phone* and a $40 for each tablet.
To convince Samsung, Apple included two different discounts. The first was to reduce the $40 per tablet license to $30 “over the course of two years”, and the second one was based on royalties. If Samsung were to create, for example, an un-iPhone-like QWERTY smartphone based on Windows Mobile then it would give them a grand 80% discount.
Apple believed this was a figure good enough for Samsung – which they note is a “strategic supplier” in documents – to respond favorably. Samsung, of course, refused to accept the deal and that is why the two companies are fighting it out in the courts.
Licensing deals are a great way for big companies to make money. Microsoft is a good example of this as they have struck multiple license deals with Android manufacturers like HTC and Samsung which pay them $10-$15 for every smartphone they sell that uses Microsoft’s patented technology. At one point in time, Microsoft was making more money from Android licensing deals than it was from its own platform – Windows Phone.
Moving back to the Apple vs. Samsung case: we aren’t qualified legal analysts here, but it’s safe to say that things seem to be more in favor of Apple than Samsung as the former has presented multiple documents that strongly suggest that Samsung intentionally copied Apple’s designs.
*Yes, that’s not $30 for Android phones. That’s $30 for every touchscreen phone – whether it’s based on Windows Phone, Bada or Android – that Samsung develops that Apple thinks infringes on their patents.
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.
