After years of being at each other’s legal throat, Apple and Samsung Electronics have quietly settled a dispute over Apple’s design patents, putting an end to an expensive, yearslong fight.
The companies declined to comment on the terms of the out-of-court settlement, which comes nearly four years after they agreed to dismiss all patent disputes outside the U.S.
According to court documents, the companies said they agreed to end litigation with prejudice, meaning another complaint can’t be filed on the same claims.
Among some of the issues that were outstanding, and have now been dismissed, are Apple’s request for additional damages from the sale of some Samsung phones following a 2012 jury verdict.
That verdict, which led to a rare design-patent challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court and was partially revised last month, found that 11 smartphone models from the South Korean electronics giant infringed Apple’s design patents.
A representative for Apple referred to a statement the company issued last month after Samsung was ordered to pay $539 million for the patent violations.
The company said at the time: “This case has always been about more than money. Apple ignited the smartphone revolution with iPhone, and it is a fact that Samsung blatantly copied our design.”
Apple sued Samsung in 2011, accusing the South Korean company of ripping off the look and other design elements of its products. Samsung, Apple’s top smartphone competitor and its main supplier for high-end smartphone screens, countersued.
As part of the dismissal, each company is responsible for its attorneys’ fees and legal costs.
