Apple, Samsung Officially Enter Settlement Talks in U.S.

From DailyTech: Apple, Inc. (AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KS:005930) ended 2011 in a virtual tie for the global lead in smartphone sales. Apple is the maker of the iconic iPhone, pivotal in the smartphone craze, which took off in 2007 after the early efforts of the likes of Research in Motion, Ltd. (TSE:RIM) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT). Samsung, meanwhile, has emerged as the world top phonemaker of the world's top platform -- Android.

The pair on Tuesday agreed before Judge Lucy Koh to participate in "Alternative Dispute Resolution" (ADR) -- a series of settlement talks. Judge Koh described:

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.

While the settlement talks will take place in and primarily pertain to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California -- a San Francisco court -- a settlement deal could reach globally, ending the companies’ lawsuits against each other spanning twenty cases in ten different countries.

Both companies have created controversy in their bids to ban each other’s best-selling products.

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