By 
Under Steve Jobs, Apple’s legal approach to potential patent infringement by Android manufacturers was to sue them out of business. While dozens of these lawsuits still linger in courts around the world sources are claiming that the Cupertino tech giant may be softening to the idea of reaching licensing agreements with major Android partners. Reports now indicate that Apple has offered settlements to both Samsung and Motorola to cease further legal action in exchange for a cut of hardware sales. Apple is said to be asking for between $5 and $15 on each handset sold.
Jobs was famously quoted by biographer Walter Isaacson as saying, “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.” We much prefer the licensing deal approach, as it allows Android to continue to operate and cuts back on the numerous lawsuits we report on each day. Of course, it’s up to the Android makers to decide if they want to accept Apple’s offer or continue to fight their battles in court.
[via BGR]
I hope they keep fighting. Don’t pad Apple’s pockets!
Motorola and Samsung should reach a licensing deal with Apple to the tune of Fuck Yourself
Ok, HC, we will mark your vote as “Not Sure / Undecided”. :)
When they see their lawsuits aren’t working out, they initiate crawl back sequence. This is the time to strike! Make apple regret it sued any Android manufacturer!
I agree….android should continue with the lawsuits…just because it happens doesn’t mean you have to report on it! 5 to 15 dollars?? I have a feeling that extra cost will be carried over to the end user…no tnx.
Considering that Apple copied Android in many other respects in iOS5, they should just consider it a draw and move the frak on.
100% agree
Except they copied things that weren’t patented.
Because Google and Android handset makers didn’t exploit the utter stupidity of the USPTO at all/as much they should suffer?
The patent office in the States and other countries is sooo broken it’s cutting the roots of innovation and sowing the seeds of MORE litigation.
You little boy, are an
Why are you trying to demean me by calling me a “little boy”? I simply pointed out a fact, it’s not like I agree with Apple’s actions.
Notification bar is patented….
Is about to be in fact.
so……they are essentially saying, they want to be like Microsoft and realize that they won’t be able to compete in the future with their own handsets, so making money off the most sold handsets is the only option. Steve Jobs is rolling
Hater’s gonna hate… I say let them if it stops this frivolous nonsense. I don’t care if they eat the dust and leftovers. Just stay the f^ck out of Android’s way while it comes through.
Why do I get the feeling Apple is trying to hedge their bets due to a lot of their own lawsuits failing. Whole thing sounds disingenuous, especially when you take into account Motorola caught Apple red handed in violating their wireless Frand patents on just about all their products up to the iPhone4S.
If moto and Samsung are smart they will settle
, otherwise apple will keep on taking them to the cleaners on the court ;)
More like Apple knows they’ll lose even more and trying to save face.
apple hasnt won anything that htc/samsung/motorola couldnt fix with a software patch(other then the rework of the 10.1 tab, which was only in one tiny part of the world lol), id hardly call that “taking them to the cleaners”. if anything apple see’s that they cant win anything worth squat and thats why they are willing to settle, doubt android manufacturers are going to agree
Apple should have let sleeping dogs lie.
Yes because Apple is about get dragged into court by Monster Cable, kings of patent trolling, for stealing their business model.
$15 dollars already to Microsoft, now $15 to Apple. Google needs new lawyers.
For what? Its not gonna happen.
It’s OEMs, not Google.
I say that the deal should be made. It will save money from going to court.
paying a ransom is never the best idea. It just makes the terrorists hunger for more….
F Apple.
I hope this war escalates and explodes. The whole system needs to be reworked.
Rot in Hell SJ
Really? What a moronic comment.
Boo Fucking Hoo
I’m a little appalled that your loyalty toward a phone compels you enough to wish hell upon someone else. I can say with absolute certainty that you, sir, are a piece of shit.. :)
——————————
It’s not loyalty toward a phone, it’s a company and a man so greedy and fascist that they are willing to impede technology, kill free market and create a “Big Brother” society far worse than Orwell could ever have imagined. Apple Uber Alles!
I’m sorry you believe in fairy tales, maybe I should also curse him with some bad Voodoo mojo.
Your comment is ridiculous again. Apple is not a governing body, they are a company that’s doing well at what companies do..profiting. Big Brother? Orwell? Really? Look at the US government for those problems, not Apple. LOL!
I’m sorry, I can’t understand you. Can you please take Steve’s dick out of your mouth and say it again?
You are a sad, sad little man. As I write this from my Lumia 800. Well, you tried though.
Shush, they are about to announce the ipad 3!
Cool. But I want Windows 8 instead. ;)
I won’t go as far to say that SJ belongs in Hell but the pompus ass certainly doesn’t deserve a place in Heaven. He wasn’t really a genius as people say (he didn’t invent much but patented a lot) but was a very rude and cruel person when he wanted to be. World could have done without him. May he go insane in limbo.
I’m probably overreacting here but there’s no way that it’s worth it. If they go through this it would be a substantial gain for apple. with 850,000 android devices activated daily (a large portion being samsung and motorola), that’s more than $6M every day going to apple for something THEY DON’T DESERVE. Apple had NO SAY in the development of android! Their countless stupid patents made obvious OS features like slide to unlock illegal. And now they have an additional patent that goes against every sliding lockscreen? How else are you supposed to unlock the f*cking phone?? Google should really get to patenting face-to-unlock (if they haven’t already) before Apple steals it and patents it for themselves. I hate seeing this company monopolize the smartphone industry by catching the publics eye with their shiny products and then turning around and lock you down on every aspect of it with their walled-garden OS.
sorry, i’ve just had all this apple rage and needed somewhere to let it all out, lol. please don’t start an argument.
I remember reading Apple already tried to go after Google over the face unlock, I’m not sure if the case is still active or was dismissed. Google did patent hand gesture , so well see if Apple will try and claim that also.
booo hooo
crybaby
boo hoo
crybaby
apple is just being a crybaby
All the way to the bank. Google is a corporation just like Apple, and competition is war. Your protection is your IP. Obviously, Apple is prepared and Google isn’t. Google came to this war naked and the Motorola acquisition isn’t providing any cover.
We share your pain.
I find buying a bag of Apples and smashing the crap out of them (not against a hard surface) tends to be a great reliever ;)
They don’t have anything to license. Slide to unlock? Android has moved on from that method already. A rectangle with on a button at the bottom? ICS doesn’t even need buttons.
Apple have been granted another patent though which will cover any touch-screen slide-to-unlock..
Yes but you can be sued for using them in the past.
They must of went over budget on lawyers fees.
They should settle. $15 per handset may seem like a lot but the cost can easily be pass onto the customer. Is an extra $15 really going to deter you from buying the next Android phone? It may end up costing both much more to continue to fight these lawsuits. No one wins except lawyers in the lawsuits.
I would tell Apple to kiss my (x)
And then I would ask them to pay 25 dollars a handset that they sell for stealing notifications.
no don’t you remember, Apple had them first way back in 2011. I never heard of them before that
So if this goes through, If I buy a moto or sammy product then I am supporting apple by giving them 15 bucks? Sorry moto and sammy I refuse to buy your products if you settle with this.
brilliant response
Thank you!
How about you being unable to buy the products at all in the US? Microsoft is already tapping HTC and a bunch of other OEMs for money everytime you buy one of their handsets.
Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute!
Face it android fanny-bois, Apple owns you. They got you by the nut-sack and they are getting ready to squeeze…..
Get over it. In next year, when google releases a new nexus, instead of saying google, it will say pwned by Apple. Suckas….LOL
Licensing is a great way to deal with these issues $5 a handset is reasonable $15 is too much. But this will turn around because Apple will have to pay more for patents from Google and Co. as well. So if they charge $15 and this becomes a standard then many android manufacturers will charge $15 to apple. In the end the consumers are paying for it again sadly.
how about google charges them $30 per device for the pull down menu?
Keep fighting.
Lol…ilol…idooo believe that Google will attack Apple for this and that soon Apple and Google will step in court.
The lawsuits are individual battles but the war seems to be public opinion. Between the bully tactics, the Sprint losses due to carrying iphones, and the China situation in conjunction with Apple revenue announcements, Apple is starting to loose the war. I am guessing that is why they are extending the offer to settle.
Man, I’m in the middle of a law suit now with apple! I had the idea five years ago to put nets around a factory as a one time expense rather than pay 2 cents more an hour for cheap labor. Sons of theiving bizzles!
LOL, wrong company. You would be talking about Foxconn who don’t forget manufacters equipment for a bunch of other companies that you use.
Steve Jobs would be rolling over in his grave if he knew that Apple execs are cheaping out to simply a “licensing deal”.
No.
“Stolen product” my big white ass.
Maybe the new apple heads have more sanity than that loon Steve jobs. Fucking idiot would have spent all of apples fortune on going after one product that obviously wont get stomped out.
Obviously the new heads at apple have more sense than that loon Steve jobs. That idiot would have spent all of apples fortune going after one thing that obviously can’t get stomped out. That idiot also believes he’s a true innovator too though
Good! It’s about time Apple gets some compensation for the ideas that are stolen from them!
I’m going to be laughing in 10 years when Apple goes the same way it did before, and ends up just trying to make ends meet selling garbage computers to schools
So apple says it was unfair of moto to request $2.25/ per unit in licensing from apple but apple can ask for $5-15/per unit wtf kind of bs logic is that. I will never buy any product from apple even if there were no other choice, I would rather live in the middle of no where with no technology. Go android, stick to your guns!