Samsung wins right to view Apple, HTC deal

A U.S. judge has ordered Apple to disclose the details of a global licensing and patent deal with HTC to rival firm Samsung.

The iPad and iPhone maker reached an agreement with Taiwanese handset maker HTC after a drawn-out battle over patent infringement and design claims pulled in a number of tech giants, including HTC, Google's Motorola unit and Samsung in courts worldwide.

The terms of the deal, which includes a 10-year licensing agreement, were not disclosed by either firm -- but HTC CEO Peter Chou did mention that rumored figures which suggested HTC would have to pay Apple between $6 and $8 for every smartphone the company produced was an "outrageous" figure.

In addition, the executive said the Taiwanese firm was "happy" with the terms of the patent settlement.

Samsung filed a court order asking its rival Apple to disclose the terms of the agreement after the deal was made public, and says it is "almost certain" that the HTC deal has relevance to its own continuing court cases with Apple -- and therefore should be privy to the information. The U.S.-based court agreed, and has now ordered Apple to reveal a full copy of the agreement immediately, based on an attorneys-eyes-only status, according to Reuters.

Apple and Samsung are still embroiled within legal battles worldwide over mobile phone patents, although the iPad maker did win a $1.05 billion verdict over Samsung in the United States this year. In addition to a request to see the HTC and Apple deal, Samsung has also filed with a Californian court to add the iPod Touch 5, the new iPad and the iPad mini to the list of devices which allegedly infringe on the firm's patents.

Source : zdnet