Apple and Samsung may be closer to a ceasefire when it comes to their never-ending patent wars, according to a report from The Korea Times. The Times source—an industry official “familiar with the negotiations”—said the two companies no longer want to spend their time fighting each other over patents.
“We are trimming down the number of disputed issues. We no longer want to spend time talking about secondary points,” said the Times’ source. “Both firms are trying to find common ground.”
This comes after two high-profile trials, both of which Apple won. In the 2012 trial, Apple was awarded $1 billion from Samsung, which was eventuallly dropped to $290 million, and in the 2014 trial, Samsung owes Apple $119.6 million while Apple owes Samsung just $158,400.
The CEOs of both Apple and Samsung reportedly attended a mediation session earlier this year, but were unable to reach a peace agreement.
The stakes continue to be high as Apple still relies on Samsung as a major supplier of its product’s components, including on the rumored iWatch.
“As technology shifts toward wearable devices, Apple still wants to keep Samsung as its top-tier parts sourcing channel,” another one of The Korea Times’s sources said. “The recent release of the Samsung OLED tablet is an indication that Samsung can manage OLED displays to be used in almost all wearable devices, a segment that Apple is greatly interested in.”
