Apple and Samsung have reached an agreement to settle some of their lawsuits, Bloomberg repots, but that doesn’t mean the legal spat between the two most profitable smartphone makers in the world is over. Apparently, Apple and Samsung will stop their fighting in courts only in international markets — including Australia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands and U.K. — which means the most important court battle between the two will remain active. Furthermore, no licensing agreement has been inked yet between the two.
“Apple and Samsung have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States,” the two companies said. “This agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements, and the companies are continuing to pursue the existing cases in U.S. courts.”
This marks an important step in Apple’s and Samsung’s complex relationship. The two corporations are business partners that still have to rely on each other, but they’re also fierce competitors in the mobile business, where they usually take all the profits.
Settlement talks have taken place on more than one occasion, but Apple and Samsung failed to amicably end their patent disputes.
Samsung has been the big loser in courts so far, with Apple winning two patent battles in the U.S., the most important mobile market for both giants. In total, two juries awarded Apple over $1 billion in damages from Samsung, although the second trial was not as big of a win for Apple as the first one.
Apple also settled its mobile-related patent lawsuits with Google earlier this year.
