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Apple and Samsung fail to find common ground in mediation talks, says Korea Times

Apple and Samsung fail to find common ground in mediation talks, says Korea Times

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Apple and Samsung have ended court-ordered mediation talks without a clear resolution, according to reports. Both sides appear headed for trial barring settlement.

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Tim Cook iPad
Tim Cook iPad

A court-ordered mediation session between the CEOs of Apple and Samsung appears to have gone for naught, producing no breakthroughs in the ongoing patent litigation between the two industry giants. Despite Tim Cook and Choi Gee-sung being in the same room, they ultimately reached "no clear agreement," reports The Korea Times. According to FOSS Patents, minute orders filed by Judge Spero reveal that Apple and Samsung met for nine hours on Monday and seven hours yesterday, but don't mention any results of the mediation sessions. The dispute is now slated to enter the trial phase in July.

It would seem Tim Cook's distaste for litigation — the chief executive said last month that he preferred "to settle versus battle" — lost out to Apple's longstanding desire to see competitors "invent their own stuff." For its part, Samsung had acknowledged heading into the proceedings that a "big gap" remained between both parties, but mentioned cross-licensing as a potential solution to what has become a global confrontation. With mediation and settlement talks now behind them (at least for now), the courtroom is likely to be the final venue of this patent war — assuming Judge Koh doesn't order Apple and Samsung back for additional discussions.