Apple to Pay Elan $5 Million in Multitouch Patent Settlement
Taiwanese company Elan has announced that Apple will pay the company $5 million as part of a patent infringement suit.
A couple of years ago, Apple and Elan were caught up in a patent infringement battle that saw Elan accuse Apple of infringing upon two multi-touch patents owned by the Taiwanese company and Apple counter-sued in response to those allegations. Elan then filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission in 2010.
Last year, the ITC sided with Apple in ruling that the Cupertino-based company had not violated U.S. trade law. However, it seems the dispute didn't end there. Reuters today reports that the two companies have reached a settlement that will see Apple pay Elan $5 million and the two companies exchange permission to use each other's patents.
Of course, $5 million is pocket-change to a company like Apple, which has billions of dollars in the bank. Still, the settlement is notable because Apple is currently fighting tooth and nail with numerous other companies over patent disputes, Samsung being one of the most high-profile due to the sheer volume of lawsuits.
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5 million only?
they should pay 100 times that for damaged done to the company.
Karma baby!!
"and Apple counter-sued in response to those allegations."
Apple is a troll even when they're the ones being sued.
Apple gets sued, agrees to settle and shares the patent. Others get sued by Apple, offers Apple settlement, gets a finger and are relieved of any rights. Obviously it is more complicated than that, but in nutshell Apple is such a b4$t4rd. Even if Apple was cheaper than competitors I would not buy it. Cheap is cheap.
how nice...i am sure that Apple will have to pay some royalties to Elan
This stinks of bullying... "Say Elan, how sad would it be if we bought your whole company up, crushed it into a thousand pieces, then paid Justin Timberlake to breakdance on it?"
"Oh, how about a 5 million dollar token settlement and we will forget all about that silly patent of ours?"
Oh and how funny is it that there are no quotes from Elan executives proclaiming "I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Elan's $10 million in the bank, to right this wrong, I'm going to destroy Apple, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."
Too soon? nope
As usual, the big boys get away with murder while you and I would get slapped silly.
And the two companies probably spent $40 million in legal fees.
Yeah, I bet that 5M will really leave Apple hurting in the long run.
Think they can come back from a death blow like this?
Hell, Tim Cook himself probably pulled out his wallet after the verdict was announced and started throwing wads of money on the table.
"FIVE MI- HA HA OH WOW" -Tim Cook
Apple invent, Steve Jobs invent...
My a*s, stealing is, with $$$ to make it legal.
Apple s*cks.
Good to be lawyer in this world. Wrong education I took damn... Ooo wait id have to kill myself if I had to use my life on stupidity like patent suits over square icons...